Something Old and Something New: The False Claims Act and Cybersecurity

According to The National Law Review, the Department of Justice has obtained several cybersecurity-related False Claims Act settlements totaling more than $50 million, underscoring cybersecurity as an enforcement priority for the administration with contracts with the federal government as potential targets.

On 6 June 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,” which accompanies a fact sheet emphasising the administration’s focus on cybersecurity. The article notes that the executive order includes a series of amendments and directives aimed at strengthening the nation’s cybersecurity and blunting efforts by foreign nations and criminals, referencing EO No. 14306, 90 Fed.

Reg. 24723 (June 5, 2025). While the emphasis on cybersecurity may be new, the authors say the administration has repeatedly used the False Claims Act as a tool to push enforcement. In the past nine months, the DOJ has achieved settlements in several cybersecurity cases under the FCA covering a range of conduct and industries.