Verizon's $4 million settlement with the US DOJ signals stepped-up action by the Justice Department's Civil Cyber-Fraud initiative.
Earlier this month, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Verizon Business Network Services agreed to pay $4,091,317, plus interest, to resolve False Claims Act (FCA) allegations. These allegations held that the company’s Managed Trusted Internet Protocol Service (MTIPS) provided from 2017 to 2021 to federal agencies did not meet three cybersecurity controls for trusted internet connections required for General Services Administration (GSA) contracts.
Verizon undertook an internal investigation that discovered the issues surrounding its compliance with the requirements, voluntarily disclosed the problems to the GSA, and cooperated with the government’s investigation. The company then took steps to remediate the issues.
Verizon received credit or reduced payment under DOJ guidelines for False Claims Act cases for its voluntary disclosures and subsequent remediation measures. Although neither DOJ nor Verizon disclosed how much of a credit the company received, one estimate pegs it at $1.3 million.
Verizon’s settlement is the latest False Claims Act action by the DOJ since the October 2021 creation within the department of its Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative. In announcing the initiative, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said, “We will use our civil enforcement tools to pursue companies, those who are government contractors who...
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