Log in or register
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn

ARTICLE · 01 AUGUST 2023

Expect More Cyber-Enforcement Under The False Claims Act

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Explore more from Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

Earlier this month, the White House released the National Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Plan outlining specific "high impact initiatives" that the federal government will carry out to achieve its cybersecurity objectives.

United StatesTechnology
Taylor M. Sample
Taylor M. Sample

Earlier this month, the White House released the National Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Plan outlining specific "high impact initiatives" that the federal government will carry out to achieve its cybersecurity objectives.

National Cybersecurity Implementation Plan Overview

Initiative Number 3.5.2 of the Implementation Plan is titled: "Leverage the False Claims Act to improve vendor cybersecurity." Specifically, the initiative states that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will "expand efforts to identify, pursue, and deter knowing failures to comply with cybersecurity requirements in Federal contracts and grants."

This is part of the Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative (CCFI), which the DOJ launched in October 2021 to "hold accountable entities or individuals that put US information systems at risk by knowingly providing deficient cybersecurity products or services, knowingly misrepresenting their cybersecurity practices or protocols, or knowingly violating

We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.

Register for freeORLog in

View source

Related Articles

Legal Intelligence Newsletters: sign up for the latest legal and regulatory news on your chosen topics

Read more about

Related Comparative Guides

See more popular content from

Article

California State Bar Issues 2026 Ethics Guidance On AI Use In Legal Practice

Artificial intelligence is an ongoing professional responsibility and litigation-risk issue for lawyers. The California State Bar recently published new guidance. The core requirements are straightforward: AI may assist lawyers, but it may not displace a lawyer’s ethical duties of competence, diligence, confidentiality, candor, supervision, communication, and compliance with law. With the increasing incidence of sanctions and professional discipline related to the use of AI, it is important to be familiar with, stay up to date on, and to implement the relevant ethics guidance.
United StatesTechnology
Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP
Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP
Article

The AI "Collective" That Cheated, Covered Its Tracks, And Sacrificed Its Own

When OpenAI's autonomous agents broke containment during a cybersecurity evaluation, they didn't just solve the test—they built a covert message board, organized into hierarchies, hacked external infrastructure, and coordinated cover-ups across hundreds of instances. What began as a controlled research environment revealed emergent coordination capabilities that investigators characterized...
United StatesTechnology
Jones Walker LLP
Jones Walker LLP
Article

Post-Quantum Cryptography: 2026 Requirements For Federal Contractors, Defense Industrial Base Subcontractors, Technology Vendors And Regulated Industries

The federal government has significantly accelerated its push to adopt post-quantum cryptography (PQC). Executive Order 14412, Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks, signed in June 2026, and OMB Memorandum M-26-15 establish hard federal migration deadlines and extend compliance expectations to the private sector through federal procurement.
United StatesTechnology
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney
Article

Frontier AI And Federal Cybersecurity Oversight: Where Are We Now On U.S. AI Regulation?

The U.S. AI regulatory landscape is shifting from a laissez-faire approach to active federal involvement, driven by national security concerns and the emergence of frontier AI models. Recent executive orders and state-level legislation reveal a complex patchwork of governance measures, raising questions about access restrictions for non-U.S. organizations and the balance between innovation and security. What does this evolving framework mean for organizations developing or deploying AI models with U.S. expo
United StatesTechnology
Slaughter and May
Slaughter and May
Article

California’s AI-in-the-Workplace Legislative Blitz: California Legislature Passes Four New Bills That May Affect Employers

The California Legislature’s 2025–2026 session ended with workplace-related artificial intelligence or automated technology in its crosshairs. If Governor Newsom signs this suite of bills, California employers may face a number of new obligations relating to AI-driven surveillance tools, automated decision systems, and other emerging workplace technologies.
United StatesTechnology
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
Article

FCC Replaces TCPA “Revoke All” Rule: New Category-Specific Opt-Out Rules For Robocalls And Robotexts

The Federal Communications Commission has fundamentally altered how businesses must handle consumer opt-out requests under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, replacing the broad "revoke all" mandate with a more nuanced, category-specific approach for informational messages. This regulatory shift allows companies to maintain separate consent tracks for different types of non-marketing communications while preserving stricter opt-out requirements for telemarketing messages. The Updated Order introduces ne
United StatesConsumer Protection
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Article

Tennessee 2026 Midterm Election Results: Blackburn Wins Governor’s Race Amid Congressional And Legislative Upsets

Tennessee's 2026 midterm elections brought unexpected shifts to the state's political landscape, with Marsha Blackburn winning the governorship by the narrowest margin in over a century and Democrats flipping six House seats despite Republican supermajority retention. The results set the stage for significant leadership changes and new policy priorities when the 115th General Assembly convenes in January 2027.
United StatesGovernment, Public Sector
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Article

Healthcare Trends & Transactions Q2 2026

Healthcare M&A activity maintained steady momentum through Q2 2026, driven by physician practice consolidation, AI-enabled technology acquisitions, and strategic outpatient expansion. Private equity investment persisted despite intensifying regulatory scrutiny of MSO arrangements, while digital health buyers paid significant premiums for platforms demonstrating production-grade AI capabilities and proprietary data assets.
United StatesCorporate/Commercial Law
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Article

DOJ Continues DEI False Claims Act Enforcement With $25 Million Accenture Settlement

The Department of Justice announced a $25 million settlement with Accenture Federal Services over allegations that the company violated the False Claims Act by falsely certifying compliance with anti-discrimination requirements while allegedly using race or sex in hiring, promotion, and access to professional development programs. This marks the third major DEI-related FCA enforcement action in 2026, following similar settlements with IBM and Deloitte.
United StatesGovernment, Public Sector
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Article

DOJ's $2 Million Honeywell Settlement Under The Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative: What Compliance Failures Mean For Defense Contractors

The Department of Justice secured a $2 million settlement with Honeywell Aerospace for allegedly failing to comply with NIST SP 800-171 cybersecurity requirements under a Department of War contract. This case demonstrates how cybersecurity compliance failures can trigger False Claims Act liability even without an actual data breach or cyberattack, and highlights the growing role of whistleblowers in exposing contractors' gaps between contractual obligations and actual security practices.
United StatesGovernment, Public Sector
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Article

Still Tracking, Still Suing: Website Privacy Litigation After SB 690

California's SB 690 eliminates private lawsuits under CIPA for pen register and trap-and-trace device theories, but website tracking litigation continues under federal wiretapping statutes, ECPA's crime-tort exception, and sector-specific claims. Businesses face ongoing risk from cookies, pixels, and tracking technologies that may unlawfully intercept visitor communications or collect routing data without proper consent.
United StatesPrivacy
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Article

No More SEC Responses To Rule 14a-8 No-Action Requests: What Public Companies Should Know For The Upcoming Proxy Season

The SEC's Division of Corporation Finance has announced it will no longer respond to Rule 14a-8 no-action requests, marking a significant shift in the shareholder proposal process. Companies must still comply with notification requirements under Rule 14a-8(j), but without staff guidance on exclusion decisions, they will need to rely on existing SEC guidance, precedent, and judicial decisions.
United StatesCorporate/Commercial Law
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Article

CAS Board Raises Contract Thresholds To $35 Million And Eliminates CAS 407: What Federal Contractors Need To Know As DoW Demands Cost And Pricing Transparency

The CAS Board has raised contract thresholds to $35 million and eliminated CAS 407, fundamentally changing cost accounting requirements for federal contractors. At the same time, the Department of War is demanding unprecedented cost and pricing transparency through new memoranda requiring actual cost information for negotiations valued at $10 million or more, creating a complex landscape where contractors face fewer formal CAS requirements but heightened scrutiny of their pricing data.
United StatesAccounting and Audit
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC