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SBA Issues Final Rule On WOSB Contracting Program But Has Yet To Identify Eligible Industries

Client Alert | 1 min read | 10.07.08

On October 1, 2008, the Small Business Administration issued both a proposed (http://www.crowell.com/PDF/Fed-Register_Vol73-No191_Proposed.pdf) and a final rule (http://www.crowell.com/PDF/Fed-Register_Vol73-No191_Rules-Regs.pdf) regarding the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) contracting program. While the long-awaited final rule makes a few changes to the December 27, 2007, proposed rule, including clarifying that a contracting officer may award a contract or begin performance after receipt of a protest after determining that an award is necessary to protect the public interest, the final rule dodges the key issue and fails to identify those industries where set-aside acquisitions are authorized based on WOSB underrepresentation, and, instead, in the proposed rule, the SBA seeks comments on or before October 31, 2008, on the underlying data used to determine WOSB underrepresentation, including data identifying 31 NAICS codes in which WOSBs were either underrepresented or substantially underrepresented.

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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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