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Cyber Barbarians & Federal Data Breaches In 2006

Client Alert | 1 min read | 10.25.06

In 2006, the lost Veterans Affairs laptop compromising the personal information of 26.5 million veterans represented just one of the hordes of information security breaches that flooded federal agencies, triggering Congressional hearings, GAO and IG investigations, and new OMB information security standards for federal agencies and contractors alike. In his article "When Cyber Barbarians Storm the Security Walls: The Mounting Risks of Security Breaches to Federal Agencies & Contractors" published in the Federal Contracts Report on October 3, 2006 (http://www.crowell.com/pdf/Security-Breach_Bodenheimer.pdf), David Z. Bodenheimer identifies the evolving rules governing federal information security and explains how the escalating federal outsourcing trends mean greater opportunities for contractors in the IT and cybersecurity business, but also that such opportunities come with mounting risks of tougher Congressional scrutiny, federal enforcement actions, and third-party litigation.

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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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