Cybersecurity & Data Privacy

The European Union’s new, rigorous privacy rules, the General Data Protection Regulation (GPDR), continue to wash across the U.S. legal and regulatory landscape and impact U.S. based government contractors.   The latest to join the movement are our friends at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”).  On September 4, 2018, NIST announced plans to develop a voluntary privacy framework…

Now that electronic signatures are becoming common-place, government contractors need to know what qualifies as a valid electronic signature in procurement. An offer that is not properly signed could easily show that the offeror did not intent to be bound by its offer and therefore could be rejected by a…

On April 2, 2018, the Department of Defense issued an extensive set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding implementation of the DFARs Cybersecurity Clause (252.204-7012), NIST 800-171 and the Cloud Computing Clauses (252.239-7009 & -7010).  These FAQs shed further light on what the Department expects and will expect from the…

FAR Part 12 – Acquisition of Commercial Items contains unique contracting policies not found in other parts of FAR. For example, changes to a commercial items contract must be bilateral and may not be made unilaterally by the government like under the traditional Changes clause. FAR Part 12’s unique rules…

Carpenter v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, No. 16-402 (22 June 2018) Maybe in his mind Timothy Carpenter saw himself as a local boy trying to get ahead, but others saw him for what he really was, an armed robber who, with other bandits, robbed nine stores in Michigan and…

As expected, the new government cyber requirements have become weapons for protests. It’s important for government contractors to see how GAO will handle these issues. In a recent GAO protest, a NOAA RFQ required that an offeror provide documentation that showed it had an awareness and capability for meeting the…

Hutton, et al., v. National Board of Examiners in Optometry, Inc., U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, No. 17-1506 (12 June 2018) The plaintiffs are three persons who on different dates submitted their personal information to the National Board of Examiners in Optometry, Inc. (NBEO).  In July 2016,…

On April 2, 2018, the Department of Defense issued an extensive new set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding implementation of the DFARs Cybersecurity Clause (252.204-7012), NIST 800-171 and the Cloud Computing Clauses (252.229-7009 & -7010).  These FAQs shed further light on what the Department expects and will expect…

On April 2, 2018, DoD issued an extensive new set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding implementation of the DFARs Cybersecurity Clause (252.204-7012), NIST 800-171 and the Cloud Computing Clauses (252.229-7009 & -7010), which shed considerable light on what the Department expects and will expect from these contractors. Over…