Rocket maker Aerojet Rocketdyne has agreed to pay $9 million to resolve allegations that it misrepresented its compliance with cybersecurity requirements of the federal government.
The settlement also resolves a whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former employee at the company’s former headquarters in Rancho Cordova, and it awards him $2.6 million, his share of a False Claims Act recovery.
Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AJRD), which moved its headquarters office from Rancho Cordova to El Segundo in 2016, is a defense contractor supplying propulsion technology to the military and NASA.
"The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability," states a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento.
Former Aerojet employee Brian Markus had been senior director of cybersecurity, compliance and controls at Aerojet in Rancho Cordova from 2014 to 2015, according to his LinkedIn page. He is now a technology executive with cybersecurity firm Aries Security, based in Delaware. He couldn’t be reached for comment.
Aerojet representatives were not immediately available for comment.
“Whistleblowers with inside information and technical expertise can provide crucial assistance in identifying knowing cybersecurity failures and misconduct,” said Brian Boynton, principal deputy assistant attorney general and head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, in the news release.
“The qui tam action brought by Mr. Markus...
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