CrowdStrike investors are facing a double whammy. The cybersecurity company’s stock price has been spiraling downwards after a faulty software update triggered a global outage that impacted millions of computers.

The incident wasn’t a traditional “crash” but rather a consequence of a bug introduced in a CrowdStrike update designed for Microsoft Windows systems. This bug caused widespread disruptions to critical services like airlines, banks, hospitals, and businesses worldwide. While the internet itself remained functional, applications and functionalities relying on affected systems went down. Estimates suggest that around 8.5 million Windows devices were impacted, though that’s a relatively small percentage of all Windows machines globally.

The fallout from the outage has spooked investors. CrowdStrike’s stock price took a significant hit as the news broke, reflecting concerns about the stability of their software and the potential for long-term consequences. Here’s a few reasons why investors might be jittery:

• Loss of trust: A core function of a cybersecurity company is to protect systems. This incident raises questions about CrowdStrike’s ability to deliver on that promise.
• Lawsuit threats: Businesses affected by the outage could seek compensation from CrowdStrike through legal action.
• Reputational damage: Regaining trust after a major public incident can be a long and arduous process.

CrowdStrike has since apologized for the outage and is working on regaining lost ground. However, the full impact on the company’s reputation and finances remains to be seen. Only time will tell if they can weather this storm and restore investor confidence.