Despite a change in administrations, the government’s vigilance and enforcement of cybersecurity requirements have not missed a beat. On March 14, 2025, MORSECORP, Inc. of Cambridge, MA resolved allegations that it had...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently reached a $4.6 million civil False Claims Act (FCA) settlement with MORSECORP, Inc. (MORSE) arising out of allegations that the company failed to comply with Department of Defense...more
In a striking move at the end of March, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a $4.6 million settlement with MORSE Corp Inc. (“MORSE”), a defense contractor based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for falsely certifying...more
While some areas of white-collar enforcement have been deprioritized by the Trump Administration, the Department of Justice (DOJ) remains committed to its Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative as demonstrated by two recent False...more
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) recently announced plans to develop the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) 20x – a new approach to the government-wide program for the security...more
In his final days in office, President Biden signed an ambitious executive order to improve the federal government's approach to cybersecurity. Executive Order 14114 ("Executive Order"), issued January 16, 2025, titled...more
Over the last few years, the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (“FedRAMP”) Program Management Office (“PMO”) has released two draft guidance documents related to defining the applicable boundary for security...more
In the ever-evolving world of cybersecurity, even organizations that meet stringent security standards can be victims of sophisticated cyberattacks. A notable example of this is the December 8, 2024 cybersecurity incident...more
Citing the threats posed by foreign adversaries and criminal organizations, and seeking enhanced accountability for companies that provide software and cloud services to the federal government, the Biden administration has...more
On January 15, 2025, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) Council issued its long-awaited “CUI Rule.” CUI, or Controlled Unclassified Information, is information that the government creates or possesses, or that an...more
To kick off the New Year (and as is now tradition, since we put out a similar Recap & Forecast last year), Sheppard Mullin’s Governmental Practice Cybersecurity & Data Protection Team has prepared a cybersecurity-focused 2024...more
On October 15, 2024, the Department of Defense (DoD) published the final rule for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Program that not only finalizes the long-anticipated CMMC Rule but also foreshadows what...more
Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity is often the lifeblood of corporate growth. While whole treatises can be, and have been, written on cybersecurity and legal challenges during M&A activity, the following are a few key...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) secured another win for its Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative last week when it resolved a False Claims Act (FCA) action[1] alleging Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) failed to comply with...more
To dramatically scale up the Modernizing the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) marketplace, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has completely rewritten FedRAMP’s vision, scope and governance...more
To kick off the New Year, Sheppard Mullin’s Governmental Practice Cybersecurity & Data Protection Team has prepared a cybersecurity-focused 2023 Recap (including links to all of the resources the team has put out over the...more
On December 21, 2023, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a memorandum (Memo) providing guidance and clarification on the security and cyber incident management requirements applicable for the use of external Cloud Service...more
The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Program Management Office recently released a revised version of its Obligations and Compliance Standards document for third party assessors – the organizations...more
Inflation relief for defense contractors, a ban on procurement of products and services containing certain Chinese semiconductors, and codification of the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) governing...more
The President’s new Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity includes wide-ranging measures intended to strengthen security standards for the federal government and federal government contractors in response to...more
Cloud computing is ubiquitous in the federal market place. Many federal contractors either provide cloud computing services to the government or use cloud computing services when performing a federal contract. For cloud...more