The FAR Regulators Enter the Cyber Fray
Client Alert | 1 min read | 08.28.12
On the heels of the latest demise of cyber legislation, the FAR Council has proposed new cybersecurity regulations for safeguarding government information ("other than public information") residing on or transiting through contractors' systems. While lacking some of the detail (such as certain NIST standards) contained in a predecessor proposal by DOD, the proposed FAR rule establishes broad requirements for basic cybersecurity safeguards for "all Federal contractors and appropriate subcontractors," including mandates for (1) "the best level of security and privacy available, given facilities, conditions, and environment"; (2) "at least one physical and one electronic barrier" for such information; (3) "sanitization" prior to disposal of information and electronic media; and (4) "intrusion protection," such as "updated malware protection services."
Contacts
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
