Cybersecurity Implications In Government Contracting Top 2019 End-Of-Year Considerations

Barron Avery, leader of BakerHostetler's national Government Contracts team, was quoted in a Law360 article titled "Top 5 Gov't Contract Cases of 2019." Avery's comments come as a sure reminder for contractors that failing to adhere to cybersecurity requirements can have serious and dire consequences to contractors themselves.

In May 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California held that an alleged failure to meet cybersecurity regulations can form the basis for a False Claims Act suit. This is the first such holding of its kind. The suit involved a relator who claimed rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne (Aerojet) misled the U.S. Department of Defense about Aerojet's failure to safeguard "unclassified controlled technical information" from cybersecurity threats. In particular, the relator claimed Aerojet misrepresented and only partially disclosed to the U.S. government the extent to which Aerojet was noncompliant