Fal.Con 2024: CrowdStrike unveils resilient-by-design framework to bolster global cybersecurity

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz opened Fal.Con 2024 with a thank you to customers and partners, saying the company could not have made it through the events of earlier this year without their help while emphasizing resilient-by-design, a framework Kurtz introduced during his keynote. In July a software update from the company caused a global IT outage impacting numerous industries.

“My goal as we went through July 19, was to be as transparent and forthcoming of obviously what happened, own the issue, and move forward,” Kurtz told the audience. “And I think an effective response can transform a company. I know it’s going to change CrowdStrike, and when you move beyond CrowdStrike, the right response can change an industry,” Kurtz observed.

Approximately 30 minutes into the keynote, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella joined via teleconference, highlighting the collaboration between Microsoft and CrowdStrike during the recently held Security Summit. Nadella elaborated on the importance of secure deployments and enabling Windows to adapt as an open platform supporting cybersecurity partners.

Nadella shared the outcome of the Security Summit and how CrowdStrike and other cybersecurity companies are collaborating with Microsoft. “Can we have a new abstraction layer that allows us to take whether it’s the, you know, the sensing, the tamper resistance, and some of the other things that security innovation needs, right? ” Nadella said citing one of the several technical discussions at the Summit that are driving security strategy.

CrowdStrike introduces Resilient-by-Design

Kurtz emphasized throughout his keynote that resilience is more than just recovering from incidents. “It’s not only about bouncing back – it’s about staying ahead through a culture of resilience,” Kurtz emphasized during his keynote. Kurtz says the resilient-by-design framework is now a core principle across their ecosystem.

“It’s about embedding resilience into every node and endpoint, ensuring that every part of our infrastructure can withstand and adapt to any disruption,” Kurtz explained​. He noted that ISAC calls with various industries highlighted the need to learn and adapt continuously.

“If you think about the power of the crowd and CrowdStrike, it really is like continuously learning, right? We’re always learning from what’s in the environment. We’re always understanding the threat environment and creating this feedback loop so that we can get better and better,” Kurtz told the audience.

The Resilient-by-Design framework focuses on three key elements. First, foundational resilience ensures that resilience is embedded into every process and system. Second, adaptability allows CrowdStrike to tailor solutions to the unique security needs of different industries. Finally, continuous learning drives ongoing improvement by analyzing evolving threats and customer feedback to stay ahead of future challenges.

Cloud Security & Strategic Acquisitions

A significant highlight of the keynote was CrowdStrike’s continued investment in cloud security, driven by recent acquisitions including Bionic and Flow Security. Both of these acquisitions provide critical components in building out Falcon Cloud Security which Kurtz said provides “real-time visibility and protection” and helps customers consolidate technologies for more streamlined cloud operations.​

Kurtz also expanded on the company’s updates to Falcon Cloud Security Licensing, which enables customers to avoid redundant payments across multiple technologies by allowing them to pick and choose modules based on their needs.

Flexibility with Falcon Flex and Financial Services

Another critical announcement at Fal.Con 2024 is the unveiling of CrowdStrike Financial Services, designed to simplify platform adoption by offering flexible financing solutions. This, coupled with the Falcon Flex licensing model, provides a customizable approach for customers. Kurtz says Financial Services and Falcon Flex are driven by what CrowdStrike is hearing from customers asking for greater flexibility in adopting and deploying modules, as hyperscalers provide.

Falcon Flex is CrowdStrike’s licensing model designed to provide customers with flexible access to the company’s complete portfolio of modules. Kurtz explained during the keynote how it was developed in response to customer feedback. Falcon Flex simplifies the process by allowing businesses to commit to a set dollar amount and granting them pre-negotiated discounts across the platform. Customers can immediately use the modules they need and add others as their requirements change.

“Eliminating complexity does not end with technology. On our mission to stop breaches, we are committed to making every point in the security process frictionless for our customers and partners,” said Kurtz.

“The Falcon platform consolidates disjointed point products, Falcon Flex provides customers flexibility to deploy what they need when they need it, and now CrowdStrike Financial Services transforms the financing experience by offering seamless and flexible options for adopting the Falcon platform.”

CrowdStrike looks ahead to a collaborative, resilient future with Microsoft

Satya Nadella’s appearance at Fal.Con 2024 underscored how CrowdStrike and Microsoft’s commitment to collaborate and work together is ongoing at the engineering team level. Reflecting on their partnership in front of the audience, Nadella said, “I’m really proud of how the CrowdStrike team and the Microsoft team came together during a moment of crisis to support our customers. That’s the spirit we need moving forward.”​

Kurtz posed a question to Nadella about Fal.Con 2026, asking, “What would success look like for you over the next two years?” Nadella responded, “If we’re back here in two years, we should have made tangible progress on secure deployment practices and the abstraction layer for kernel mode that we discussed.”​ Nadella closed his comment saying, “It’s about ensuring that we build on top of platforms like Windows, creating secure, resilient products that benefit all of our customers.”​

Creating a culture of resiliency is key

“My commitment to our company and to the industry is CrowdStrike will never stop innovating,” Kurtz said as he closed his keynote. CrowdStrike’s Resilient-by-Design framework, Falcon Flex, and CrowdStrike Financial Services show how the company continues driving itself in a customer-centric direction.

“So it’s not about bouncing back; it’s about really staying ahead through a culture of resiliency. It’s more than just adapting,’ Kurtz emphasized during the keynote. “One of the things that we’re focused on at CrowdStrike is at every level of our organization, for every level of our connected ecosystem and for society at large, is to use July 19 as an opportunity for all of us, not just CrowdStrike, but for all of us to emerge stronger which is one of the reasons that I wanted to introduce resilient by design,” Kurtz emphasized to the Fal.Con audience.