CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm, faced a significant backlash after a faulty software update on July 19 caused major disruptions globally, affecting airlines, hospitals, banks, and businesses, resulting in millions of computers displaying the 'blue screen of death.' The incident rendered approximately 8.5 million Windows devices unusable, leading to apologies from CEO George Kurtz and other executives, who admitted the company's failure and noted the need for better software testing and protocols to prevent future issues. In an attempt to apologize, CrowdStrike offered affected partners a $10 Uber Eats gift card, but many recipients reported that the vouchers were canceled upon redemption. Critics pointed out that the company's initial response was overly technical and lacked transparency, leading to further discontent among affected customers. Despite CrowdStrike's claims of having measures in place for software updates, experts highlighted significant oversights in their testing processes. The financial impact of the outage is estimated to exceed $1 billion, particularly affecting small businesses and regional areas.