Takeaway:
The Department of Justice will use the False Claims Act as the basis for exacting civil penalties against companies who’ve fraudulently procured federal dollars while knowingly choosing to permit business practices with unacceptable cybersecurity risk.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is getting aggressive with cyber fraud. Lisa O. Monaco, the DOJ’s Deputy Attorney General over the Department’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative (Initiative), announced recently that the DOJ will actively pursue companies who receive federal funds through federal government contracts, when they fail to follow cybersecurity practices. This type of fraud is all-too-common throughout the federal government’s supply chain. Civil penalties resulting from the DOJ’s new Initiative should be a deterrent for bad actors/contractors who refuse to invest in cybersecurity planning and risk management.
The DOJ will use the False Claims Act (FCA) as the basis for exacting civil penalties against companies who’ve fraudulently procured federal dollars while knowingly choosing to permit business practices with unacceptable cybersecurity risk.
Under the FCA, companies can be held liable if…
