Insights

On June 5, 2026, President Trump issued National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) 11 (NSPM-11) to accelerate AI adoption by the U.S. military and intelligence agencies. It directs updated AI management, acquisition, and use policies and seeks to compel AI companies to comply with Trump administration policies.  It calls for expanded training and enhanced security in collaboration with the private sector and orders the “termination for default or for convenience” of government contracts with AI companies that wish to limit how the government uses their products. NSPM-11 could also herald a major change in autonomous warfighting policy by directing the update of the Pentagon’s primary directive on autonomous weapon systems.

On May 1, 2026, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), the Australian Cyber Security Centre, the UK National Cyber Security Centre, the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, and the New Zealand National Cyber Security Centre, published joint guidance on the “Careful Adoption of Agentic AI Services” (Guidance).

On March 19, 2026, President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met at the White House and announced a series of initiatives to strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance. Among the defense cooperation announcements, the White House fact sheet noted that “[t]he United States welcomed Japan’s commitment to develop a secure and sovereign cloud platform for government data to enhance bilateral information sharing, planning, and coordination.”[1] While it is a single sentence in a wide-ranging Summit document, the commitment represents a step in the growing architecture of allied sovereign cloud infrastructure. If this is operationalized, it will have important implications for defense, intelligence, and cloud services markets. This announcement follows the October 2025 Trump-Takaichi Summit in Tokyo, where the two governments agreed to launch a bilateral working group to deepen mutual understanding on cloud security technical standards and requirements—explicitly including U.S. experience with secure and sovereign cloud development—and to invite Japanese and American firms to participate.[2]

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) continues to advance its modernization agenda. On April 8, 2026, FedRAMP released RFC-0031, Updated Incident Communications Procedures for public comment. This RFC proposes replacing the current FedRAMP Incident Communications Procedures (ICP) with what FedRAMP calls “a clear set of reporting requirements … established using a modern rules-based format.” 

On March 6, 2026, the General Services Administration (GSA) issued a significant proposed contract clause, GSAR 552.239-7001, Basic Safeguarding of Artificial Intelligence Systems (“Clause”), for inclusion in GSA Schedule solicitations and contracts for AI capabilities.  The proposed clause would impose substantial new requirements related to AI sources, intellectual property rights, data use, change management, and performance standards.  The Clause would also take precedence over any other contract terms (including commercial licensing terms) related to AI, including a Seller’s terms of sale and service to which the Government had previously agreed.  GSA requests comments by March 20, 2026.

On February 13, 2026, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced upcoming virtual town hall meetings scheduled for March 2026 regarding the implementation of the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 (CIRCIA).  The meetings will allow industry stakeholders to provide input to DHS to refine the “scope and burden” of the forthcoming CIRCIA final rule.

On January 23, 2026, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell T. Vought issued OMB Memorandum M-26-05 (Memo). The Memo rescinds prior OMB memoranda (M-22-18 and M-23-16) that required federal agencies to collect the Secure Software Development Attestation Form from entities selling software or products containing software to the U.S. government. The Trump administration previously retracted a Biden administration directive that called for formalization of the Attestation Form collection process in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Many in industry saw this as a sign that the Trump administration disfavored the Attestation Form. Now, the Memo has gone one step further to officially terminate agencies’ obligation to collect the Form from their software suppliers.

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) is a government-wide initiative established to standardize the security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring of cloud products and services used by federal agencies. FedRAMP’s primary objective is to ensure that cloud service providers (CSPs) implement robust security controls to protect federal information in cloud environments. By leveraging a consistent framework for security assessment and authorization, FedRAMP is intended to reduce duplication of effort, cost, and time for both agencies and vendors.

In an important first, the yearly defense policy law, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, directs the Department of Defense (DoD)  to develop and implement a framework addressing the cybersecurity and physical security of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies (AI/ML) acquired by the Pentagon.

Earlier this month, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Swiss Automation Inc., an Illinois-based precision machining company, agreed to pay $421,234 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by inadequately protecting technical drawings for parts delivered to Department of Defense (DoD) prime contractors.  This settlement reflects DOJ's persistent emphasis on cybersecurity compliance across all levels of the defense industrial base, reaching beyond prime contractors to encompass subcontractors and smaller suppliers.  The settlement is also a reminder to all contractors not to overlook the often confusing relationship between Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and export-controlled information.

On December 18, 2025, the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (FY 2026 NDAA) (P.L. 119-60) was signed into law. The Act makes significant changes to defense acquisition, sourcing restrictions, and interactions between the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) and the Department of Defense (DOD). 

On September 30, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC) agreed to pay $875,000 to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) and federal common law by failing to meet cybersecurity requirements under certain Air Force and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contracts.  The settlement adds to the growing list of recoveries under DOJ’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative and is yet another example of DOJ’s ongoing enforcement focus on cybersecurity obligations for federal contractors handling sensitive government information.  The settlement also provides insight into how government contractors may challenge FCA liability when faced with allegations of cybersecurity noncompliance.

On September 10, 2025, the Department of Defense (DoD) published a final rule (CMMC Clause Rule) that will apply its much-anticipated Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program (CMMC) to DoD contractors and subcontractors. Under the CMMC Clause Rule, starting on November 10, 2025, DoD can include CMMC requirements—potentially including third-party cybersecurity assessments—in contracts that require the handling of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) or Federal Contract Information (FCI).

The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) reprieve on civil enforcement of its Data Security Program (DSP), which imposes sweeping restrictions on bulk data transfers by U.S. entities to certain “countries of concern” and “covered persons,” is set to expire on July 8, 2025.

The flow of data across borders is essential to our global economy. As companies grow more and more dependent on cross-border data transfers to conduct business, two parallel legal trends have emerged:

On June 6, 2025 President Trump signed an Executive Order, Sustaining Select Efforts to Strengthen the Nation’s Cybersecurity and Amending Executive Order 13694 and Executive Order 14144 (the “Trump Cyber EO”). The Trump Cyber EO rescinds and modifies select Biden administration guidance from EO 14144 covering several cybersecurity regimes, including digital identity verification, artificial intelligence, and secure software development practices, and it amends Obama administration guidance from EO 13694 authorizing sanctions on persons involved in malicious cyber activities. We have provided a summary of significant changes made by the Trump Cyber EO below.

The Department of Defense (DoD) has released a memorandum establishing the DoD Organization-Defined Parameters (ODPs) for use in National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171 Revision (Rev) 3. Currently, DoD’s cybersecurity regimes require government contractors to comply with NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2. However, the release of this memorandum may indicate DoD’s intention to soon incorporate Rev. 3 into DFARS 252.204-7012, Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting (DFARS 7012) as well as the forthcoming Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC).

On April 11, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued guidance regarding the implementation and enforcement of the newly enacted final rule, “Preventing Access to U.S. Sensitive Personal Data and Government-Related Data by Countries of Concern or Covered Persons,” now referred to as the Data Security Program (DSP). The release included an Implementation and Enforcement Policy, a Compliance Guide, and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Collectively, these documents are designed to help entities subject to the DSP understand and comply with the obligations set out under the Final Rule.

On March 26, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that defense contractor MORSECORP Inc. (MORSE) will pay $4.6 million to settle allegations that MORSE violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by failing to comply with cybersecurity requirements and subsequently submitting false or fraudulent claims for payment in its contracts with the Departments of the Army and Air Force. This is the first FCA settlement that is based on a defense contractor’s failure to reevaluate and promptly update its self-assessment score in the Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS) after a third-party assessment resulted in a lower score.

On March 12, 2025, the Government of Canada announced plans to launch the Canadian Program for Cyber Security Certification (CPCSC). CPCSC is a cybersecurity compliance verification program that aims to protect sensitive unclassified government information handled by Canadian government contractors and subcontractors within Canada’s defense sector. Canada will roll out CPCSC to contractors in four phases, with the first phase launching this month.