Elizabeth F. Greene and Kristen Dupard pf Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP write:
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently obtained several cybersecurity-related False Claims Act (FCA) settlements totaling more than $50 million dollars. Collectively, these settlements reflect a clear message: Cybersecurity is an enforcement priority for the second Trump administration, and any organization that contracts with the federal government is a potential target.
Background
On June 6, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14306 titled “Sustaining Select Efforts to Strengthen the Nation’s Cybersecurity and Amending Executive Order 13694 and Executive Order 14144.” The executive order itself contains a series of amendments, as well as some directives aimed at strengthening the nation’s cybersecurity and blunting the efforts of “[f]oreign nations and criminals” from conducting cyber campaigns against the United States (EO No. 14306, 90 Fed. Reg. 24723 (June 5, 2025)). The accompanying fact sheet provides additional highlights and reemphasizes the administration’s focus on cybersecurity.
While that focus on cybersecurity may be new, the administration has turned to an old and reliable tool to advance this enforcement priority — the FCA.
Settlements
In the past nine months, the DOJ has achieved settlements in several cybersecurity cases under the FCA covering a range of conduct and industries.
Read about the settlements at The National Law Review.