CrowdStrike’s Falcon software update, which caused millions of Windows computers to crash worldwide, has led to a big drop in the company’s stock price. The trouble started last Friday and has affected about 8.5 million Windows devices across many industries.
Their stock fell 11% on Friday and dropped another 13% on Monday. Investors are worried about how this will affect the cybersecurity company’s future.
The update caused a lot of trouble in important areas like airlines and hospitals. Delta Air Lines had to cancel thousands of flights over the weekend, and some problems continued into Monday. To make things worse, some hackers tried to take advantage of the confusion by creating fake websites offering software updates.
CrowdStrike’s CEO, George Kurtz, went on TV to talk about what happened. He said on CNBC,
“My goal right now and my mission is to make sure that every customer is back up and running, and providing the protection that they’ve come to rely on from CrowdStrike.”
Over the weekend, CrowdStrike said they were testing a way to fix affected computers faster. But the damage to their reputation might take longer to repair.
Some financial experts are now less confident about them. John DiFucci, an analyst at Guggenheim Securities, changed his recommendation on CrowdStrike’s stock from “buy” to “neutral.” He said,
“It might take time for CrowdStrike to repair its image, and this will probably make it harder for them to sign new customers.”
But not everyone thinks the situation is so bad. Goldman Sachs, another big financial firm, still thinks CrowdStrike’s stock is worth buying. They do warn that it might take longer for the company to close new deals in the next few months.
CrowdStrike has said they’re still figuring out how this will affect their business. In an official statement, they said,
“This is an evolving situation. We continue to evaluate the impact of the event on our business and operations.”
The company’s response to this crisis will be very important. How they handle it will affect whether customers and investors continue to trust them in cybersecurity.