Look Before you Leap!: Measures to Validate Compliance with Cybersecurity Requirements in Federal Contracting

Partners Andrew Jackson and Fern Lavallee participated in a panel discussion on measures to validate compliance with cybersecurity requirements in federal contracting hosted by The Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics and Conduct (DII).

The U.S. federal government has increasingly focused on ensuring cybersecurity among its contractors. Concerned with misrepresentations or exaggerations of cybersecurity capabilities, the Department of Justice has turned to its premier anti-fraud tool.

The DOJ's Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, announced in October 2021, prioritizes use of the False Claims Act to pursue alleged instances of fraud and misrepresentation concerning cyber practices. This and other recent developments in the cybersecurity space make this an opportune time for companies to reassess whether their processes and controls are adequate to safeguard against overly optimistic or inaccurate representations of the company's cybersecurity capabilities.