Orrick – This case highlights the growing use of the FCA in cybersecurity enforcement, with government contractors—including contracting universities—a prime target.
A recently unsealed False Claims Act qui tam complaint against Penn State is the latest in line with DOJ’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative. The case is United States ex rel. Matthew Decker v. Pennsylvania State University, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The whistleblower—the former Chief Information Officer of Penn State’s Applied Research Lab—alleges that Penn State submitted false certifications to the Department of Defense. The certifications concerned compliance with the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement and National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-171, “Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Information Systems and Organizations.”
Source:
