Justice Department Announces Two New Cyber Enforcement Tools

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced two major cyberspace-related enforcement initiatives on October 6. These latest developments from DOJ's recently launched "comprehensive cyber review" came just hours after Monaco published an editorial encouraging Congress to pass legislation creating a national standard for reporting significant cyber incidents. Here's a quick break down of these newest additions to the government's enforcement toolbelt:

Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative: In the world of civil False Claims Act enforcement, DAG Monaco warned that DOJ's new "Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative" will pursue FCA actions to "extract very hefty fines" from those "entrusted with government dollars" or "entrusted to work on sensitive government systems" who are deemed to be "fail[ing] to follow required cybersecurity standards." The Initiative's launch broadly outlined some of the expected enforcement targets, including individuals and entities that receive federal