Congress enacted the False Claims Act in 1863 without an inkling about today's vast, internet-based cybersecurity threats. But government agencies appear poised to levy FCA charges against government contractors who aren't meeting their cybersecurity requirements.

The FCA, in part, holds contractors liable who knowingly submit a false claim to the government or cause another party to provide a false statement to the government. While the law was originally enacted in response to concerns that suppliers to the Union Army during the Civil War were defrauding the government, lawyers contacted by Legaltech News said government agencies will increasingly file FCA charges against government contractors whose cybersecurity practices aren't matching their contractual obligations.

Stinson white collar defense and business litigation partner Habib Ilahi said there has been "a lot of chatter" regarding the FCA from the U.S. Department of Justice in recent years. He cited DOJ deputy assistant attorney general Michael Granston's published remarks to the American Bar Association's Civil False Claims Act and Qui Tam Enforcement Institute in December 2020 that noted potentially "new or expanded uses of the False Claims Act." Later, in 2021, the DOJ launched the civil cyber fraud initiative, where deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco said the initiative would allow the DOJ to use the FCA to penalize government contractors that didn't follow required cybersecurity standards, Ilahi noted.