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On March 12, 2024, the Department of Defense (DoD) published a final rule, revising the eligibility criteria for the voluntary DoD Defense Industrial Base (DIB) Cybersecurity (CS) Activities Program.  The intent of the rule is to permit all defense contractors that own or operate unclassified information systems that process, store, or transmit covered defense information to participate in the program.  Previously, only cleared contractors were permitted to participate in the sharing of this information.  The final rule also amends identity proofing requirements by eliminating the need to obtain a medium security certificate to participate in either the voluntary or mandatory reporting regimes.  The rule will take effect on April 11, 2024, and DoD anticipates a significant increase in contractor participation.

Additional information about the rule is outlined below.Continue Reading DoD Expands Contractor Cybersecurity Information Sharing Program

On March 11, 2024 the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), released the much anticipated final version of its common Secure Software Development Attestation Form.  Finalization of the form is a notable development for developers of software that is sold to the U.S. Government for two reasons.  First, the form is expected to be used widely by Government agencies to fulfill requirements set forth in recent OMB memoranda for those agencies to ensure that the software they procure or use is secure by requiring attestations from software developers.  Second, as set forth under OMB guidance, final approval of the form by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) triggers a countdown wherein agencies need to begin collection of the forms within three months for “critical software” and within six months for all other software.Continue Reading OMB Approves Final CISA Secure Software Attestation Common Form, Triggering Clock for Collection

On January 30, 2024, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (“FAR Council”) proposed a new “Pay Equity and Transparency in Federal Contracting” rule for government contractors.  The proposed rule intends to increase race and gender equity for employees of federal prime contractors and subcontractors by prohibiting them from requesting and relying on certain information about job applicants’ compensation history and requiring contractors to disclose compensation rates in job announcements for certain positions.  These requirements would apply to all prime contracts and subcontracts – including for commercial products and services – where the principal place of performance is within the United States, regardless of dollar amount or tier.  The proposed rule is the latest in a number of steps the Biden Administration has taken to address discriminatory pay practices in federal procurement and contracting since announcing an Executive Order on Advancing Economy, Efficiency, and Effectiveness in Federal Contracting by Promoting Pay Equity and Transparency in March 2022. 

The proposed rule’s potential impact and implications for contractors — as well as opportunities to submit comments on the issue — are discussed below.Continue Reading New Proposed Rule on Pay Equity and Transparency in Federal Contracting

On January 29, 2024, the Department of Commerce (“Department”) published a proposed rule (“Proposed Rule”) to require providers and foreign resellers of U.S. Infrastructure-as-a-Service (“IaaS”) products to (i) verify the identity of their foreign customers and (ii) notify the Department when a foreign person transacts with that provider or reseller to train a large artificial intelligence (“AI”) model with potential capabilities that could be used in malicious cyber-enabled activity. The proposed rule also contemplates that the Department may impose special measures to be undertaken by U.S. IaaS providers to deter foreign malicious cyber actors’ use of U.S. IaaS products.  The accompanying request for comments has a deadline of April 29, 2024.

The Proposed Rule would effectuate many of the requirements laid out in the Executive Order on Taking Additional Steps to Address the National Emergency with Respect to Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities (“E.O. 13984”).  E.O. 13984, issued three years prior to the Proposed Rule, set in motion requirements for IaaS providers to enact certain customer identity verification procedures and take special measures to prevent their services from being used by foreign actors for malicious cyber-enabled activities.  The AI provisions of the Proposed Rule stem from the more recent Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (“E.O. 14110″), issued on October 30, 2023, which directed the Department to propose regulations for U.S. IaaS providers to (i) submit reports to the Department when a customer transacts with the provider to train an AI model that could be used for malicious cyber-enabled activities and (ii) ensure foreign resellers of IaaS products also conduct identity verification of foreign account holders.

The proposed regulations are further explained and summarized below:Continue Reading Department of Commerce Issues Proposed Rule to Regulate Infrastructure-as-a-Service Providers and Resellers

On January 4, 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced that it has filed criminal wire fraud and false statement charges against the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a company that knowingly sold certain surveillance and security cameras to prosecutors’ offices, sheriffs’ offices, and police…

Continue Reading U.S. Government Brings Criminal Charges Against Individual Alleged to be Responsible for Falsely Representing that Cameras Sold to Government Customers were Compliant with Section 889 Requirements

This is the thirty first in a series of Covington blogs on implementation of Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” issued by President Biden on May 12, 2021 (the “Cyber EO”).  The first blog summarized the Cyber EO’s key provisions and timelines, and the subsequent blogs described actions taken by various government agencies to implement the Cyber EO from June 2021 through October 2023.  This blog describes key actions taken to implement the Cyber EO, as well as the U.S. National Cybersecurity Strategy, during November 2023.  It also describes key actions taken during November 2023 to implement President Biden’s Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence (the “AI EO”), particularly its provisions that impact cybersecurity, secure software, and federal government contractors.Continue Reading November 2023 Developments Under President Biden’s Cybersecurity andArtificial Intelligence Executive Orders and National Cybersecurity Strategy

Echoing the Obama Administration’s Better Buying Initiative, the Biden Administration announced the Better Contracting Initiative (“BCI”), a four-pronged initiative designed to ensure the Federal Government gets better, and more consistent, terms and prices when purchasing commercial goods and services, while enhancing support for small and disadvantaged businesses.  The Initiative’s four prongs include:Continue Reading More Bang for the Government’s Buck: The Biden Administration Announces the Better Contracting Initiative

This is the twenty-ninth in a series of Covington blogs on implementation of Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” issued by President Biden on May 12, 2021 (the “Cyber EO”).  The first blog summarized the Cyber EO’s key provisions and timelines, and the subsequent blogs described the actions taken by various government agencies to implement the Cyber EO from June 2021 through August 2023.  This blog describes key actions taken to implement the Cyber EO, as well as the U.S. National Cybersecurity Strategy, during September 2023. Continue Reading September 2023 Developments Under President Biden’s Cybersecurity Executive Order and National Cybersecurity Strategy

On October 5, 2023, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council) issued an interim Federal Acquisition Regulation rule (FAR rule) that implements the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act (FASCSA).  This FAR rule implements the requirements of the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018 and the Federal Acquisition Security Council (FASC) final rule for complying with exclusion or removal orders. The FAR rule represents yet another step by the Government to mitigate the security risks that the Government perceives with the use of information technology that may be produced or provided by countries considered to be foreign adversaries.  Like similar supply chain prohibitions, the rule requires contractors to conduct diligence to ensure that articles and sources covered by a FASCA exclusion or removal order are not provided to the Government, to make an affirmative representation to the Government that such articles and sources will not be provided, and to promptly report if any are identified.  The FAR rule will become effective on December 4, 2023, and will apply to new contracts and contracts subject to extension or renewal.  The rule instructs that existing IDIQ contracts should be modified by the Government within six months of December 4, 2023 to apply the requirements to future orders.

Additional information about the rule and its relationship to existing FASCSA regulations is outlined below.Continue Reading FAR Council Issues Interim Rule Outlining Procedures Relating to Excluded Covered Articles and Sources

Following our recent overview of topics to watch in the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) for Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2024, available here, we continue our coverage with a “deep dive” into NDAA provisions related to cybersecurity and software security in each of the Senate and House bills.  For the past three years, the NDAA has dedicated a separate Title to cyber and cybersecurity, reflecting the increased importance of these issues in Department of Defense (“DoD”) operations.  As expected, both the Senate and House versions of the NDAA bill continue this tradition.  Many of the cyberspace related provisions in both chambers’ bills would have direct or indirect impacts on DoD contractors and other members of the Defense Industrial Base (“DIB”).  We summarize below the cyber-related provisions that are most likely to impact the DIB. Continue Reading Key Cyber Security and Software Security Provisions of the House and Senate Versions of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)