Flying Through The Cloud: Acquisition Turbulence & Cyber Hail
Client Alert | 1 min read | 12.04.12
OMB's "Cloud First" directive funnels an ever-expanding share of the $70 billion IT budget into cloud computing services and technology, creating a whirlwind of acquisition and cybersecurity issues outpacing the regulatory framework, procurement practices, and security rules guiding federal agencies and contractors. In his Briefing Paper on "Cloud Computing Acquisitions & Cybersecurity" published by Thomson West, C&M's David Bodenheimer sheds light on the latest NIST standards for federal cloud acquisitions and security, the major drivers accelerating the "Cloud First" implementation in the federal marketplace, the cybersecurity challenges and FedRAMP authorization process, and the complexities and pitfalls raining down on cloud acquisitions, including current and future protests involving competition, restrictive requirements, privacy, security, and organizational conflicts of interest.
Insights
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25
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.
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.19.25
