Did DEI crash 8.5M computers? CrowdStrike probed for sidelining its white, male coders

UK Daily Mail ^ | 07/24/2024 | James Reinl

[DFG]

The cybersecurity firm behind the software update that crashed millions of computers globally has been hit with a complaint over sidelining its white, male employees under a diversity-hiring scheme.

A conservative legal action group alleges that CrowdStrike favors women and minorities for jobs and promotions in coding, programming and other areas through diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.

America First Legal (AFL), the group that complained about CrowdStrike to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), did not blame DEI for the bug that crashed some 8.5 million computers globally.

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But critics of DEI say it's problematic because jobs and promotions are awarded based on sex and skin color — not talent — leaving companies less efficient as their products and services suffer.

AFL lawyer Dan Epstein said there was plenty of evidence that the $3-billion-a-year firm, which is headquartered in Austin, Texas, used 'race as a basis for advancement in employment.'

Public statements by CrowdStrike executives showcase 'values in favor of racial discrimination over the true diversity of thought and opinion' and indicated 'unlawful activity' by the firm, Epstein added.

[dhs12345]

If proven, then no sympathy for CrowdStrike. Sue their pants off. Make an example.

[John Robinson]

Maybe, but also, “stuff” happens in the software industry.

[jpl]

We are so screwed.

[Da Coyote]

DEI coders? Heck, software as it exists is - shall we say - somewhat underwhelming. Add DEI and we’ve got Microsoft level crap.

[DocRock]

Obviously done to wipe evidence of conspiracy to kill President Trump.

[beethovenfan]

Get ready for DEI heart surgeons, airline pilots, etc.

[lightman]

Was the malicious code line inserted by a Chinese intern?

[Aria]

I saw a story recently where an aspiring surgeon, during an actual operation, got VERY offended when the lead surgeon pointed out that she obviously didn’t know anatomy because she was focused on the wrong body part. Instead of learning she got angry.

Well this isn’t fair to any blacks who got there by merit but these days who is interested in taking the chance?

[xoxox]

let the quiet part be said out loud.

[dayglored]

> ...“stuff” happens in the software industry

Indeed it does (I've been doing software since the 70's). But as I understand it, this particular disaster apparently had multiple contributing factors making up the "stuff":

• The coding flaw (a NULL pointer dereference) is a fairly common mistake, easy to make in C/C++ code. This was failure #1.

• However, the developer did not use a static analysis tool to check their work. Even a basic analysis tool would have caught a NULL ptr deref. This was failure #2.

• Subsequent development-stage cross-checks either were bypassed, or waved through. Failure #3.

• The code was not run in a "sandbox" testing environment (usually this is QA although sometimes it's done during development also). This would have caught the error immediately. Failure #4.

• QA signed off on the release, which should have included a checklist of all the necessary above steps. Clearly, it was rubber-stamped instead of properly done. Failure #5.

IMO, with 45+ years experience, I claim there's simply no excuse for this unfortunate chain of failures.

[IYAS9YAS]

Was the malicious code line inserted by a Chinese intern?

I was at Intel's plant in Rio Rancho, NM a while back sitting in the parking lot waiting on someone. It was near the end of the day, and I had my windows down. A group of five or six individuals walked by, all speaking Chinese. They were dressed casually, like normal Intel workers, not in suits, so unlikely to have been visitors.

[Cold_Red_Steel]

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For a moment that seemed like hearing a Biden speech.

[sten]

Chinese and Indians have been taking over the IT sector via the H-1b Visa program since 2000

[rlmorel]

Yes. I am currently working on testing software for an upgrade, and the test plan I wrote has nearly 1400 discrete steps to exhaustively test this complicated software. I am not going to rubber-stamp anything.

I also had to take part last weekend remediating bit locker encrypted computers, and we had thousands of them.

Billions of dollars wasted all over the world. If the Leftist Crowdstrike is sued into oblivion, I wouldn’t care less.

[gitmo]

Thank you for the thorough explanation. I’ve been retired a few years now, but that would never have happened in my company. It’s hard to believe so many failure points were ignored.

[SauronOfMordor]

I could see a white male employee, seeing layoff imminent, might “goof”.

[cuban leaf]

Who is John Galt?

[brianl703]

The fat chick with purple hair who knows how to use the “ping” command can get an IT job anywhere.

[T.B. Yoits]

The days of The Saxon looking out for korporations intent on replacing them by checking the work of such replacements is over.

Hire clowns - expect a circus.

Atlas Shrugged

Good luck to CrowdStrike and the korporate officers with their future endeavors. I would expect a lot of contracts not being renewed and few new customers, if any.