This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

fact-checked

reputable news agency

proofread

Microsoft hits back at Delta after the airline said last month's tech outage cost it $500 million

Microsoft hits back at Delta after the airline said last month's tech outage cost it $500 million
The Microsoft logo is displayed outside its French headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux, outside Paris, May 13, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File

Microsoft is joining cybersecurity software firm CrowdStrike in fighting back against Delta Air Lines, which blames the companies for causing several thousand canceled flights following a technology outage last month.

A lawyer for Microsoft said Tuesday that Delta's key IT system is probably serviced by other technology companies, not Microsoft Windows.

"Your letter and Delta's public comments are incomplete, false, misleading, and damaging to Microsoft and its reputation," Microsoft lawyer Mark Cheffo said in a letter to Delta attorney David Boies.

Cheffo said Microsoft was trying to determine "why other airlines were able to fully restore so much faster than Delta."

The comments represent an escalating fight between the and the Atlanta-based airline.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian said last week that the global technology outage that started with a faulty upgrade from CrowdStrike to machines running on Microsoft Windows cost the airline $500 million. Bastian raised the threat of legal action.

On Tuesday, Delta said it has a long record of investing in reliable service including "billions of dollars in IT capital expenditures" since 2016 and billions more in annual IT costs. It declined further comment.

CrowdStrike has also disputed Delta's claims. Both it and Microsoft said Delta had turned down their offers to help the airline recover from the outage last month. Microsoft's said CEO Satya Nadella emailed Bastian during the outage, but the Delta CEO never replied.

© 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Citation: Microsoft hits back at Delta after the airline said last month's tech outage cost it $500 million (2024, August 7) retrieved 7 August 2024 from https://techxplore.com/news/2024-08-microsoft-delta-airline-month-tech.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

CrowdStrike and Delta fight over who's to blame for the airline canceling thousands of flights

1 shares

Feedback to editors