On 8 July 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement of cybersecurity fraud charges against Aerojet Rocketdyne Inc. (Aerojet) following an action under the False Claims Act (FCA). Aerojet agreed to pay USD 9 million to the US government to settle allegations that it misrepresented its compliance with cybersecurity requirements when entering into federal government contracts with NASA and the Department of Defense. The case started when Aerojet’s former employee, Brian Markus, filed a qui tam action against the company under the FCA after it allegedly failed to protect sensitive information pursuant to government rules about cybersecurity. The case was settled on the second day of trial. This is the DOJ’s second settlement in the last nine months under its Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, thus signaling the government’s sustained focus on combatting cybersecurity fraud through the FCA.
Aerojet manufactures products for the aerospace and defense industry, and it contracts with federal government agencies including the Department of Defense (DoD) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Both the DoD and NASA impose regulations on defense contractors to implement specific controls to protect sensitive government information from cybersecurity threats, namely, Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation 48 C.F.R. § 252.204-7012 (DFARS) and NASA Federal Acquisition Regulation 48 C.F.R. § 1852.204-76 (NASA FARS).1
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