US: Will sue contractors who hide violations

Under the new Civil Cyber-Fraud that the US Department of Justice announced yesterday, government contractors will be held accountable in civil court if they fail to report incidents of breaches or fail to meet required cybersecurity standards.

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The initiative gives the Department of Justice the necessary capability to combat digital threats to sensitive information and critical systems originating from federal agency partners.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monacosaid the initiative allows the Justice Department to scrutinize government contractors who remain silent about incidents of breaches or fail to comply with cybersecurity standards.

Led by the Civil Division's commercial litigation arm, the initiative will utilize the False Claims Act (FCA), which holds anyone who knowingly makes false claims to the government liable.

A provision of the Act allows private parties to identify and monitor fraudulent behavior. Whistleblowers benefit from protection and receive a significant portion of any funds recovered.

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The Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative aims to strengthen defenses and minimize the risk of intrusion into government networks due to poor cybersecurity practices by external partners.

• The benefits expected from this initiative range from increasing the security of information systems in both the private and public sectors to improving overall cybersecurity practices:
• Building broad resilience to cyber attacks across government, the public sector and key industry partners
• Adhering to contractors' commitments to protect government information and infrastructure
• Supporting the efforts of government experts to promptly identify, create, and release patches for vulnerabilities in widely used information technology products and services.

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• Ensuring that companies that follow the rules and invest in meeting cybersecurity requirements are not at a competitive disadvantage
• Compensating the government and taxpayers for losses incurred when companies fail to meet their cybersecurity obligations
• Improving overall cybersecurity practices that will benefit the government, private users, and the American public