In 2023, the government and whistleblowers were party to 543 settlements and judgments — the highest number in a single year — collecting over $2.68 billion. After announcing its Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative in October 2021, the Justice Department proved that the initiative is dedicated to using the FCA as a mechanism to hold federal contractors
Unfortunately, but as predicted earlier this year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has shown no signs of pausing use of the False Claims Act (FCA) as a tool to enforce cybersecurity compliance.
On September 5, 2023, DOJ announced an FCA settlement with Verizon Business Network Services LLC based on Verizon’s failure to comply with
The government’s announcement of renewed emphasis on cybersecurity enforcement has spawned recent million-dollar enforcement actions. Continued government attention on cybersecurity promises a treacherous enforcement environment in 2023 and beyond.
Several recent government initiatives have focused on cybersecurity enforcement. Towards the end of 2021, the Department of Justice announced a Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative to use the
While the federal government has relied on the False Claims Act (FCA) to combat fraud across a range of sectors since 1986, in 2022, the Department of Justice set its sights on new enforcement priorities, including fraud in the cybersecurity realm. In October 2021, DOJ announced its Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, dedicated to using the FCA