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Challenge To OCI Waiver Falls Short

Client Alert | 1 min read | 09.09.10

In MCR Fed., LLC (Aug. 17, 2010) GAO denied the protester's challenge to the agency's decision, in the context of taking corrective action, to waive organizational conflicts of interest for two offerors to facilitate competition, noting that, "[w]here a procurement decision -- such as whether an OCI should be waived -- is committed by statute or regulation to the discretion of agency officials, our Office will not make an independent determination of the matter." GAO found that the agency complied with FAR 9.503, including approval by the agency head's designee and a written determination setting forth (i) the extent of the conflict and (ii) explanation for why application of the OCI rules would not be in the government's interests in the particular procurement.

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Client Alert | 4 min read | 06.25.26

Twin Executive Orders Seek to Spur Quantum Leap in Technology and Cybersecurity

On June 22, 2026, President Trump signed two executive orders, “Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks” (Quantum Security EO) and “Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation” (Quantum Innovation EO), marking the most significant federal action on quantum technology since the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act of 2022, which directed agencies to harden their information systems against quantum-enabled hacking. The orders seek to speed the development of quantum computers, which are advanced processors that can calculate multiple possibilities simultaneously and thus solve problems exponentially faster than traditional computers. At the same time, the orders look to protect against the danger that quantum technology can “break” traditional encryption by easily decoding it. Of particular note for government contractors, the Quantum Security EO directs agencies to update federal acquisition regulations to require contractors by 2031 to adopt information processing standards that resist quantum-enabled codebreaking....

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