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NIST Enhances Final Draft of NIST SP 800-172, Enhanced Security Requirements

Client Alert | 1 min read | 07.08.20

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released the final public draft of NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-172, formerly known as Draft NIST SP 800-171B. Building on the security requirements in NIST SP 800-171, the applicable standard under DFARS 252.204-7012, 800-172 provides 34 enhanced requirements to protect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) associated with critical programs or high value assets from the risks posed by advanced persistent threats (APTs). 

Unlike prior drafts, 800-172 incorporates the protection strategy and desired effects on the adversary directly into the implementation guidance for each control. The Department of Defense (DoD) expects 800-172 to impact fewer than one percent of defense contractors. However, numerous requirements from Draft 800-171B were incorporated into the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Levels 4 and 5, likely giving commenters the opportunity to affect future CMMC revisions.

Comments for the final public draft are due August 21, 2020.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25

A Sign of What’s to Come? Court Dismisses FCA Retaliation Complaint Based on Alleged Discriminatory Use of Federal Funding

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....

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