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Townsend Bourne

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Townsend Bourne is a partner in the Governmental Practice in the firm's Washington, D.C. office. She also is Leader of the firm’s Government Business Group.

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To kick off the New Year (and as is now tradition, since we put out a similar Recap & Forecast last year), Sheppard Mullin’s Governmental Practice Cybersecurity & Data Protection Team has prepared a cybersecurity-focused 2024 Recap (highlighting major updates and including links to the resources we put out over the past year) and a 2025 Forecast (previewing what we expect to see in 2025). This Recap & Forecast covers the following six high-interest topic areas relating to cybersecurity and data protection:Continue Reading Governmental Practice Cybersecurity and Data Protection: 2024 Recap & 2025 Forecast Alert

On October 22, 2024, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that Pennsylvania State University (“Penn State”) has agreed to pay $1,250,000 to settle a False Claims Act (“FCA”) case brought against the University approximately two years ago. The whistleblower in the case, former chief information officer of the Penn State Applied Research Laboratory, alleged that Penn State failed to comply with cybersecurity requirements in fifteen contracts and/or subcontracts with the Department of Defense (“DoD”) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (“NASA”) between 2018 and 2023.Continue Reading Update – Penn State to Pay Up for Cyber-Related FCA Case

On October 15, 2024, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) published the final version of its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (“CMMC”) rule in Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations (the “Final Rule”). (Reminder, there are two CMMC rulemakings going on in parallel. This Final Rule updates DoD national security regulations while the other rulemaking effort under Title 48 will update the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation (“DFARS”) and trigger requirements for DoD contractors.)Continue Reading Countdown to Compliance: DoD Finalizes the CMMC Program Rule

On August 22, 2024, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed a Complaint-In-Intervention (the “Complaint”) against the Georgia Institute of Technology (“Georgia Tech”) and Georgia Tech Research Corp. (“GTRC”). The 99-page DOJ Complaint alleges the defendants knowingly failed to meet contractual cybersecurity requirements in connection with various Department of Defense (“DoD”) contracts. The suit raises claims under the False Claims Act and federal common law (including fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and payment by mistake). This is the latest DOJ activity relating to its Civil Cyber Fraud Initiative (announced in October 2021), which we previously have written about here, here, and here.Continue Reading DOJ Sues Georgia Tech Entities for Cybersecurity Failures in the Latest Civil Cyber Fraud Initiative (CCFI) Activity

On June 28, 2024, in a landmark decision, the Supreme Court overruled the four decade old case Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. This pivotal decision should spur businesses to recalibrate their existing relationship with federal agencies. Indeed, we have already seen industry groups begin to use the overruling to influence agency rulemaking, signaling a future of significant shifts in the regulatory landscape. For those operating in regulated industries—including government contractors, and particularly those navigating the complex world of cybersecurity regulation—understanding the implications of the decision is crucial.Continue Reading Navigating the New Cybersecurity Regulatory Landscape Post-Chevron

It’s been a hot summer so far but Federal Risk and Authorization Program (“FedRAMP”) is just starting to heat up. In June, FedRAMP (the Federal government’s program for security authorizations for cloud solutions) released the final Emerging Technology Prioritization Framework, which outlines the prioritization of certain artificial intelligence capabilities. In mid-July, FedRAMP announced its Agile Delivery pilot program, which is a new process for reviewing significant changes without the need for advanced approval. FedRAMP also announced a new technical documentation hub (automate.fedramp.gov) that focuses on provided support to cloud service providers in the development of digital authorization packages. Lastly, just as the heat wave in Washington, D.C. ended, FedRAMP published the final version of the FedRAMP OMB Memo (“OMB Memo”) on July 26, 2024. The OMB Memo revamps FedRAMP through changes to the authorization paths and continuous monitoring and incident response processes, as well as enhancements through automation. Below are key points to know about each FedRAMP update released this summer.Continue Reading Summer Heat Ramping Up: FedRAMP Releases Final OMB Memo and Announces Update on Roadmap Progress, Automation Site Launch, and the Agile Delivery Pilot Launch

For companies in the U.S. that hold certain personal data and U.S. Government-related data, rules stemming from recent Executive Order (“EO”) 14117 on “Preventing Access to Americans’ Bulk Sensitive Personal Data and United States Government-Related Data by Countries of Concern” may create obstacles and new compliance obligations. Under this EO, the Attorney General is charged with issuing regulations to either outright prohibit or impose restrictions on transactions involving bulk sensitive personal data or U.S. Government-related data when such transactions involve a “country of concern.”Continue Reading Data, Deals, and Diplomacy: How the Bulk Data Executive Order Will Shape Future Contracts and Security Practices

On June 17, 2024, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the latest settlement under its Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative (“CCFI”) (previously discussed here).[1] The settlement resulted in a total of $11,300,000 in payments from two consulting companies (Guidehouse, Inc., the prime contractor, which paid $7,600,000; and Nan Kay and Associates, the subcontractor, which paid $3,700,000) to resolve allegations the two companies violated the False Claims Act by failing to meet cybersecurity requirements in federally-funded contracts.Continue Reading Latest Cyber-Related FCA Settlement Underscores the Breadth of DOJ’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Focus

On May 3, 2024, the FAR Council published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (the “Advanced Notice”) seeking to implement Section 5949 of the James M. Inohfe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 prohibition on procuring certain covered semiconductor products and services. The Congressional prohibition does not go into effect until December 2027, but the FAR Council was directed to promulgate regulations by December 2025. Though this only is an Advanced Notice at this time, the publication provides government contractors with information crucial to developing compliant infrastructures and preparing for the forthcoming rule’s publication. Interested parties are directed to submit written comments in response to the Advanced Notice by July 2, 2024 for consideration in the forthcoming proposed rule – an opportunity all contractors impacted by this prohibition should take advantage of.Continue Reading FAR Council Releases Rulemaking on Prohibitions for Semiconductors