Zero Hour: Contractors Face Increased FCA Exposure for Cybersecurity Noncompliance

Along with the steady influx of cybersecurity requirements in federal procurement, contractors now face potential False Claims Act liability in connection with cybersecurity noncompliance. Underscoring this risk was a recent FCA settlement, United States, ex rel. Glenn v. Cisco Sys. Inc., in which Cisco agreed to pay $8.6 million to settle allegations that it violated the FCA by selling products to the government that contained flawed software that was susceptible to data breaches. In an article published in Bloomberg Law, C&M attorneys discuss the intersection of the FCA and cybersecurity requirements as well as strategies to mitigate risk and defend against cybersecurity based FCA actions.