On July 31, 2025, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a $9.8 million settlement with Illumina, Inc. (Illumina) to resolve alleged False Claims Act (FCA) violations related to cybersecurity vulnerabilities and shortcomings in its genomic sequencing products. Of the total settlement, $1.9 million will be paid to the qui tam whistleblower who brought […]
About Lance Taubin
DOJ Settles Another False Claims Act Case for Alleged Failures in Implementing NIST SP 800-171 and Basic Cybersecurity Controls
On May 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement under the False Claims Act (FCA) involving defense contractors Raytheon Company (Raytheon), RTX Corporation (RTX), and Nightwing Group—the successor owner to one of Raytheon’s cybersecurity business lines (collectively “the Companies”). The Companies agreed to pay $8.4 million to resolve allegations of noncompliance […]
DOJ Settles False Claims Act Case with MORSECORP Over Cybersecurity Program
On March 26, 2025, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had reached an agreement with MORSECORP Inc. (MORSE) to settle alleged violations of the False Claims Act (FCA), specifically regarding MORSE’s cybersecurity program. The DOJ and MORSE—a government contractor that provides services to both the Departments of the Army and Air […]
Additional Cybersecurity Requirements of NYDFS Part 500 Take Effect Today
Today, on May 1, 2025, additional enhanced cybersecurity controls required by the Second Amendment to the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) Cybersecurity Regulation (23 NYCRR Part 500) (the “Second Amendment”) take effect. Although the Second Amendment was originally adopted in November of 2023, NYDFS established a multi-year rollout of the Second Amendment’s requirements, […]
FTC Announces Proposed Settlement with GoDaddy Incorporating Prescriptive Cybersecurity Requirements
On January 15, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a proposed settlement with GoDaddy Inc. (GoDaddy) for making false or misleading representations about their security practices in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act. GoDaddy, a website hosting company, serves approximately 5 million customers. In the complaint, the FTC indicated that although GoDaddy […]