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These Are a Few of Our Favorite IoT: NIST Finalizes Internet of Things Cyber Guidance

Client Alert | 1 min read | 07.02.19

NIST has finalized Internet of Things (IoT) risk management guidance, which derived from a draft publication.  The guidance informs government agencies how to understand and manage IoT risks throughout device lifecycles.  Industry can anticipate government focus on three high-level goals:

  1. Device security;
  2. Data security; and
  3. Individual privacy.

The publication highlights three differences between managing risks for IoT devices and conventional information technology devices:

  1. IoT devices interact with the physical world differently than conventional devices;
  2. IoT devices cannot be accessed and monitored the same as conventional devices; and
  3. The availability and effectiveness of cybersecurity and privacy capabilities are different for IoT devices than conventional devices.

While not mandatory, the guidance provides useful considerations for IoT cybersecurity and privacy risk management.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25

A Sign of What’s to Come? Court Dismisses FCA Retaliation Complaint Based on Alleged Discriminatory Use of Federal Funding

On November 7, 2025, in Thornton v. National Academy of Sciences, No. 25-cv-2155, 2025 WL 3123732 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025), the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation complaint on the basis that the plaintiff’s allegations that he was fired after blowing the whistle on purported illegally discriminatory use of federal funding was not sufficient to support his FCA claim. This case appears to be one of the first filed, and subsequently dismissed, following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement of the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative on May 19, 2025, which “strongly encourages” private individuals to file lawsuits under the FCA relating to purportedly discriminatory and illegal use of federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in violation of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Jan. 21, 2025). In this case, the court dismissed the FCA retaliation claim and rejected the argument that an organization could violate the FCA merely by “engaging in discriminatory conduct while conducting a federally funded study.” The analysis in Thornton could be a sign of how forthcoming arguments of retaliation based on reporting allegedly fraudulent DEI activity will be analyzed in the future....

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