Just weeks after a software update caused a global IT meltdown, CrowdStrike isn't shying away from the spotlight — in fact, the company's president, Michael Sentonas, took to the stage at the Pwnie Awards to accept the Most Epic Fail award.
The awards ceremony took place at Def Con, right after the Black Hat conference, where CrowdStrike had the largest booth and gave away free T-shirts and action figures. A company spokesperson told TechCrunch that the message to attendees was “thanks and admiration for the Black Hat community.”
Video of Sentonas' acceptance speech Share onlineLike conference attendees who seemed ready to give CrowdStrike another chance, the awards audience also seemed enthusiastic and appreciative of Sentonas, who was there to acknowledge the company's mistakes.
Organizers explained that this final award had been changed at the last minute because there was no way CrowdStrike wouldn't win it, and afterwards, as the comically large trophy was carried onstage to thunderous cheers, Sentonas admitted it was “not an award I'm particularly proud of.”
“I think the team was surprised when I said 'I do it' so quickly,” Sentonas continued. “We got this badly wrong. We've said this many times, but it's very important to admit when you get things right. It's very important to admit when you get things badly wrong.”
Sentonas said he would take the trophy back to CrowdStrike headquarters and put it on prominent display so “everyone can understand that our goal is to protect people, we were wrong, and this should not have happened.”