The DOJ Goes Phishing: The Rise of False Claims Act Cybersecurity Litigation
While the DOJ Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative is still in its early stages and cybersecurity regulations are evolving, whistleblower plaintiffs have already begun leveraging the FCA to pursue alleged noncompliance with government cybersecurity requirements.
March 14, 2022 at 03:40 PM
13 minute read
This past October, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced the launch of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative targeting entities and individuals that fail to follow government cybersecurity standards. Under the initiative, to be led by the Fraud Section of the Civil Division's Commercial Litigation Branch, the DOJ announced that it would utilize its powerful enforcement tool — the False Claims Act (FCA) — to pursue cybersecurity-related fraud by government contractors and grant recipients. Shortly after the announcement, in remarks at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) 4th Annual National Cybersecurity Summit on Oct. 13, 2021, DOJ Civil Division acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton described three "prime candidates" for potential FCA enforcement under the initiative: 1) providing products or services that fail to comply with cybersecurity standards; 2) misrepresenting security controls and practices; and 3) failing to timely report suspected cybersecurity breaches.
The DOJ's initiative comes alongside increased government activity to curb cybersecurity and government contractor risks. Earlier last year, emphasizing this new focus on cybersecurity and compliance, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity (EO 14028), which called for, among other things, federal agencies to adopt updated contractual requirements for information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) contractors to share information about potential cyber threats. In January 2022, President Biden signed a National Security Memorandum to Improve the Cybersecurity of National Security, Department of Defense, and Intelligence Community Systems, calling out cybersecurity as a national security and economic security imperative for the administration. And on Feb. 9, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced upcoming new rules requiring registrants to maintain cybersecurity polices and standards and report significant cyber incidents to the SEC, among other things.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Alex Spiro Accuses Prosecutors of 'Unethical' Comments in Adams' Bribery Case
Feds Chide Defense Attorney Alex Spiro for Extrajudicial Comments in NYC's Adams Case
Government Attorneys Are Flooding the Job Market, But Is There Room in Big Law?
4 minute readLaw Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1'Largest Retail Data Breach in History'? Hot Topic and Affiliated Brands Sued for Alleged Failure to Prevent Data Breach Linked to Snowflake Software
- 2Former President of New York State Bar, and the New York Bar Foundation, Dies As He Entered 70th Year as Attorney
- 3Legal Advocates in Uproar Upon Release of Footage Showing CO's Beat Black Inmate Before His Death
- 4Longtime Baker & Hostetler Partner, Former White House Counsel David Rivkin Dies at 68
- 5Court System Seeks Public Comment on E-Filing for Annual Report
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
