The False Claims Act (“FCA”), the U.S. federal government’s principal civil anti-fraud statute, imposes liability on entities that knowingly submit, or cause the submission of, false or misleading claims for payment to the United States. The FCA has long served as a significant enforcement tool for the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) in dealing with fraud against the government. In October 2021, the FCA formally reached the realm of cybersecurity with the announcement of the Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative and the DOJ continued expanding FCA’s reach through additional initiatives.

In January 2026, the DOJ announced that cyber-related cases occupied a prominent share ($52 million in nine settlements) of the record-shattering $6.8 billion total FCA recoveries in the fiscal year ending in September 2025. The DOJ reported that cybersecurity fraud resolutions have more than tripled in each of the past two years. As government dollars increasingly flow with strings attached to its contractors, technology vendors, and research grant recipients that handle sensitive systems and government data, the DOJ is poised to increasingly utilize the FCA in addressing cybersecurity-related shortcomings.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brenna Jenny of the DOJ’s Civil Division articulated this approach at the American Conference Institute’s Annual Advanced Forum on False Claims and Qui Tam Enforcement last week. In her remarks, she named cybersecurity fraud as a key FCA enforcement priority...

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