CrowdStrike Exec Shows Up to Accept ‘Most Epic Fail’ Award in Person [Video]

CrowdStrike’s reputation has taken a beating after last month’s massive IT outage. But rather than duck the ridicule, the cybersecurity company decided to “own” the mistake this past weekend by accepting a cybersecurity humiliation award for “most epic fail.”

At the DEF CON hacking show, the annual Pwnie Awards recognize achievements and major blunders in the cybersecurity industry. Past “winners” of the Most Epic Fail award include Microsoft, the TSA, and Twitter. This year, there was no question that CrowdStrike would receive the notorious title after the company accidentally distributed a faulty security update that bricked millions of Windows PCs and servers. 

Although CrowdStrike could have easily ignored the award, CrowdStrike President Michael Sentonas accepted it in person, which elicited applause from an audience made up of other cybersecurity professionals. 

Sentonas said it was important he accept the award so that CrowdStrike could “own” its mistakes. “Definitely not the award to be proud of receiving,” he told the audience. “I …