- In the previous edition of The GovCon Brief, we covered the pronouncement of the CMMC final rule (see here), and amidst the fallout and ongoing punditry, last week we saw Pennsylvania State University settle a False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit related to cybersecurity lapses for $1.25 million. You can read more about it here.
- In the world of FCA, $1.25 million isn't a whole lot, and it likely isn't a whole lot to Penn State. The importance of this settlement isn't in terms of dollars, but in what it signals to the broader federal contracting world: cybersecurity is a core compliance requirement and failure to meet the standards required by your federal contracts will result in enforcement action. Debate all you want about what is fair and what is not, what makes sense as enforceable cybersecurity rules, and whether CMMC is fundamentally similar to or different from other standards (e.g., FAR, CAS, DFARS Business Systems). This does not change the clear signal sent to industry that lapses in cybersecurity can result in real harm to your business, be it financial, reputational, or both.
- It goes without saying that the DOJ's Civil-Cyber Fraud Initiative has has a slow rollout after its much touted unveiling in 2021. Since then, I have counted fewer than five publicly-announced FCA settlements predicated on cybersecurity issues. The largest settlement so far was $11.3 million and involved Guidehouse and one of its subcontractors. However, the nature of that case differed from the Penn State case, in that the alleged infraction was non-conformance with specific contract performance requirements and mishandling of PII. The Penn State case, by contrast, was centered on alleged non-compliance with DFARS cybersecurity standards found in many DoD contracts requiring the handling sensitive federal contract information. In other words, the Penn State case is more indicative of the broad-sweeping approach to cybersecurity enforcement that may be coming down the pike. So, if you're not preparing already, there's no time like the present!
- The SBA issued a proposed rule that seeks to increase small business participation in multiple award contracts by applying the Rule of Two to multiple-award contract task and delivery orders, with some exceptions
- Under a proposed rule, GSA would make contractor performance information publicly available -- a draft rule soliciting industry feedback is expected to drop in early 2025
- DOT announced $4.2b in infrastructure funding for 44 projects nation-wide, ranging from road and bridge repair to expansion of port capacity
- Anduril and Invariant secured two US Navy contacts worth a total of $400m to deliver C-UAS engagement system, or CES, and related services
- BigBear.ai received a sole-source contract worth $165m for Global Force Information Management (GFIM) Production Services
- Millenium Space Systems, a Boeing subsidiary, picked up a Space Force contract worth $386m to deliver six satellites to detect and track missiles in medium Earth orbit, replacing RTX after its contract was terminated earlier this year
- Northrop Grumman received a $1.8b contract modification for its Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) missile warning satellite constellation, bringing total funding to $4.2b
- The Space Development Agency awarded 19 companies a spot on its Hybrid Acquisition for Proliferated Low Earth Orbit (HALO) contract vehicle, which is an Other Transaction modeled after an IDIQ
- Gulfstream Aerospace, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, won a US Air Force contract worth $991m to provide logistics support services for aircraft used to transport government and defense officials
- Boeing signed a deal to offload a small subsidiary focused on military surveillance equipment, Digital Receiver Technology, to Thales for an undisclosed sum -- this transaction comes after a WSJ report that more Boeing asset sales and spinoffs may be coming as the company desperately seeks to raise cash and focus on its core businesses
- The US Army is inching closer to full release of its Modern Software Development contract RFP on Nov 7. We covered the controversy surrounding this contract vehicle -- which features cost-plus arrangements for software development -- in a previous edition.
- Who are the largest aerospace companies in the world? The answers may surprise you, at least, according to an analysis over at the Visual Capitalist.
Please feel free to share your reactions, comments, questions, or links to anything notable that I missed. Thanks for reading!
Thanks for sharing