Peter Spillis, managing partner at Kelley | Uustal, spoke with the Sun Sentinel about the July 19 global CrowdStrike cyber outage and its significant impact on businesses and individuals who relied on the cybersecurity firm to safeguard and maintain their technology systems.
The outage, which disrupted operations for both private users and businesses, has left many grappling with financial and even operational setbacks. According to Spillis, those who suffered losses are likely to seek compensation for their damage.
For individual consumers, the economic impact of the outage could have ranged from missed appointments to disrupted medical care. Spillis explained that such individuals might pursue legal action against CrowdStrike. Individuals who suffered economic loss, such as a missed doctor’s appointment in another city, or medical patients whose care was disrupted, may file a “strict tort claim against CrowdStrike for whatever they were put through,” said Spillis.
For businesses that hired CrowdStrike for cybersecurity services, the path to resolution may depend on the specific terms outlined in their agreements.
“My expectation is there would be arbitration clauses there,” Spillis noted, referring to provisions often included in contracts to mandate private dispute resolution. “Those customers would have to deal with that landscape.”
An arbitration clause typically requires disputes to be resolved outside the traditional court system, with both parties agreeing to a private settlement process. The existence of such clauses could shape how businesses navigate their claims against CrowdStrike.
Read the full article on Sun Sentinel.
