Penn State has agreed to pay $1,250,000 to resolve allegations that violated the False Claims Act by failing to comply with cybersecurity requirements involving either the Department of Defense (DOD) or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The settlement aimed to resolve allegations that, sometime between 2018 and 2023, Penn State failed to incorporate cybersecurity controls that were contractually mandated by the DOD and NASA, as well as not adequately implementing plans of action to correct deficiencies it identified. The DOD requires contractors to submit summary-level scores that reflect the status of their adherence to the required cybersecurity measures on covered contracting systems used to store or access sensitive defense information.

The U.S. argued that Penn State submitted cybersecurity scores to the DOD that showed it had not implemented certain controls, but misrepresented by which dates it would be implemented and did not pursue plans to rectify the situation. The U.S. also claimed Penn State did not use an external cloud service provider that met the DOD’s security requirements for secured defense information.

“Universities that receive federal funding must take their cybersecurity obligations seriously,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a release made by the Office of Public Affairs within The U.S. Department of Justice. “We will continue our efforts...

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