CrowdStrike Gift Card Voucher Is Blocked by Uber

In the aftermath of the global tech outage caused by a faulty software update from CrowdStrike, new developments have occurred.

The incident, stemming from an interaction with Microsoft Windows, affected numerous Fortune 500 companies and underscored the risks associated with interconnected cloud systems.

As a result, Microsoft launched KB5042429, a new recovery tool aimed at resolving issues caused by the CrowdStrike Falcon agent affecting 8.5 million Windows devices last Friday. The tool provides options to recover from Windows PE for automated repairs and from safe mode for manual remediation, requiring bootable media creation on a Windows 64-bit client with administrative privileges.

In a surprise twist, CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity firm responsible for a recent global computer crash, was discovered to have been sending out $10 Uber Eats gift cards as a form of appeasement for its debacle. According to Tech Crunch, an email was also sent out from the company’s chief business officer expressing gratitude and apologizing for the disruption.

Then, in another strange debacle, users who received the gift card began getting error messages that the voucher no longer worked. It turns out that Uber put a fraud alert on the cards. On the Uber Eats page, an error message stated that the gift card “has been canceled by the issuing party and is no longer valid.”

An official statement was released by spokesperson Kevin Benacci, which said, “CrowdStrike did not send gift cards to customers or clients. We did send these to our teammates and partners who have been helping customers through this situation. Uber flagged it as fraud because of high usage rates,” according to The Guardian.

Moreover, Krispy Kreme responded to the fallout from the CrowdStrike software update with a gesture of goodwill, offering a free Original Glazed Doughnut on July 19, 2024, at participating U.S. stores. This move aimed to lift spirits following the global tech outage triggered by the update, which impacted airports, Social Security offices, and jails due to issues with CrowdStrike’s interaction with Microsoft Windows.

The incident highlighted concerns about dependency on a few cybersecurity providers and emphasized the need for improved digital resilience and policies, as noted by experts and Anne Neuberger from the White House. Despite CrowdStrike’s efforts to deploy a fix, affected systems continue to require extensive recovery efforts.