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Republican representatives have requested CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz to testify before the House Committee on Homeland Security, following a significant software malfunction that crashed millions of Microsoft Windows devices. The incident, which occurred after a defective update to CrowdStrike’s Falcon vulnerability-protection software, led to widespread disruptions across various sectors, including banking, aviation, healthcare, emergency services, and media.
Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection, emphasized the national security implications of the outage. In a letter dated Monday, they described the event as a “warning about the national security risks associated with network dependency.” The incident resulted in thousands of flight delays and cancellations across the United States, as well as the rescheduling of medical appointments and non-emergent procedures in numerous health systems.
The malfunction caused CrowdStrike’s shares to drop over 13% on Monday, highlighting investor concerns about the company’s handling of the situation. In response to the lawmakers’ call for a hearing, a CrowdStrike spokesperson stated, “CrowdStrike is actively in contact with relevant Congressional Committees. Briefings and other engagement timelines may be disclosed at Members’ discretion.”
While Microsoft declined to comment on the situation, the Republican lawmakers stressed the importance of transparency. They noted that Americans deserve a detailed explanation of how the incident occurred and the measures CrowdStrike is taking to prevent future occurrences. Although Kurtz clarified that the outage was not the result of a cyberattack or security breach, the lawmakers insist that the country must learn from this disruption to safeguard against similar events in the future.
Green and Garbarino have requested that CrowdStrike arrange a hearing with the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection by Wednesday, underscoring the urgency of addressing the issue. As the situation unfolds, stakeholders await further details on the company’s response and the broader implications for national cybersecurity infrastructure.