CEO at cybersecurity firm that caused a global outage forgot to apologize

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Officer George Kurtz co-wrote a book that’s commonly referred to as the bible of computer security. When it comes to crisis management, though, he’s on shakier ground.

In a post on social media platform X early Friday morning about a botched software update that crashed countless computer systems globally, Kurtz made clear the incident was not a cyberattack, his firm had identified the problem, and deployed a “fix.” What he didn’t say — at least at first — was the magic phrase that public-relations experts advise all businesses to shout from the rooftops at times like this: “I’m sorry.”

Kurtz’s PR blunder, which he subsequently rectified in a television appearance and follow-up statements later that morning, could be the result of several things, crisis communications experts said. One possible reason is a rush to pack a lot of details about the company’s response into the initial missive. A potential desire to avoid legal liability also could have been a factor.

Most likely, though, the lack of contrition stems from the IT sector’s longstanding struggle to relate in a more personalized and less robotic way with the general public.

“A CEO needs a nuanced and emotionally truthful response,” said Davia Temin, founder and CEO of crisis-communications firm Temin & Co. “This is a response scrubbed by a legal team with lawsuits in mind. It holds little to no accountability, which is what makes apologies so powerful. And it positions Kurtz almost as an AI voice — automated, soulless. In fact, ChatGPT does a better job of appearing to care than he does.” 

CrowdStrike didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment on its CEO’s initial statement.

Other public-relations advisers were more generous in their assessment of Kurtz’s handling of the situation, but all agreed that the lack of an apology at the start wasn’t wise. CrowdStrike’s shares fell more than 11% — their biggest drop since November 2022.

“The formula is always the same, no matter what —  you start by saying there was a mistake, and apologize for it,” said Paul Argenti, professor of corporate communications at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. “That statement he came out with is the kind of statement you get from IT people all the time. They’re not thinking about the human side, they just want to get a job done.”

The early-morning post “appears to be written to IT departments,” said Ron Culp, a former corporate public relations executive who now advises at DePaul University’s College of Communication. “It is essential to allay fears, start fixing the problem and apologize. All three should be done in the same communication.”

The snafu put a spotlight on the tech sector’s challenges in forging human connections, but it’s nothing new. 

Sitcoms like Silicon Valley and Britain’s The IT Crowd have mocked technology workers as arrogant and out of touch. Industry leaders who could communicate well with the general public, like Apple’s Steve Jobs, honed those skills despite — or perhaps because of — a dearth of tech chops.

When a crisis hits, those failings are magnified, experts said. But they’re not fatal. Most public-relations experts gave Kurtz a grade of “B” for his overall response so far, noting his later statements were much improved. And he might not be done saying he’s sorry for a while.

“While I respect George’s instinct to come clean and apologize,” said Malik Khan, an analyst at Morningstar, “the real apology will likely occur when customers come calling.”  

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