The Department of Justice announced that a government defense contractor, Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC), agreed to pay the United States $875,000 to resolve allegations that it failed to meet cybersecurity requirements under its research contracts. GTRC allegedly violated the False Claims Act (FCA) for research performed at the affiliated Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). GTRC contracts include the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Air Force, and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed by Christopher Craig and Kyle Koza, former members of Georgia Tech’s Cybersecurity Team, under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the FCA. The qui tam provision permits private persons to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. It also allows the government to intervene and take over the lawsuit, as it did in this case. The settlement in this case provides for Craig and Koza to receive $201,250 as their share of the recovery.
“Failure to follow required cybersecurity requirements puts all of us at risk,” said Stacy Bostjanick, Chief Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity, Deputy Chief Information Officer for Cybersecurity, Office of the Chief Information Officer. “Those who knowingly provide deficient cybersecurity products or services, misrepresent their cybersecurity practices or protocols, or violate obligations to monitor and report cybersecurity incidents and breaches...
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