Adrian Johnson
TLDR:
– CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity company, is known for building software defenses for the cloud computing age and exposing threats from Russia and North Korea.
– Founded in 2011, the company embraced a “cloud-first” model for more effective protection but faced an outage due to an incompatible update.
– CrowdStrike focuses on identifying and stopping attackers rather than just malware and antivirus products, making it a leader in the cybersecurity industry.
– The company became publicly traded in 2019 and has seen substantial sales growth, but still struggles with profitability.
– CrowdStrike has been involved in investigating high-profile cyber attacks like the Sony Pictures hack and DNC cyber attacks linked to Russian intelligence services.
– The company has criticized Microsoft for cybersecurity lapses and doing business in China.
CrowdStrike, a leading cybersecurity company, has been making headlines recently due to its involvement in a massive global IT outage. Founded in 2011 by cybersecurity experts George Kurtz, Dmitri Alperovitch, and Gregg Marston, the company is known for developing software defenses tailored for the cloud computing era. CrowdStrike’s signature Falcon platform, launched in 2013, focuses on identifying and stopping attackers’ techniques rather than just traditional malware and antivirus products.
The company’s “cloud-first” approach allows for quick and regular updates to enhance protection but faced a setback when an update caused an outage due to incompatibility with Microsoft software.
Despite the challenges, CrowdStrike’s share price was down by about 12% after the incident. The company went public in 2019, reporting strong sales growth in 2023, reaching $3.05 billion, up 36% year-on-year. However, profitability remains a concern with only a modest net profit of $89 million in 2023.
CrowdStrike gained prominence for its involvement in investigating high-profile cyber attacks, including the Sony Pictures hack in 2014 and the DNC cyber attacks linked to Russian intelligence services in 2015-2016. CrowdStrike has also criticized Microsoft for cybersecurity vulnerabilities and its business dealings in China.
Overall, CrowdStrike has established itself as a leader in the cybersecurity industry, focusing on innovative approaches to protecting against cyber threats in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
