In Part I of this series we introduced readers to what Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) is understood to consist of under the CUI Program at 32 CFR pt. 2002, differentiating and safeguarding CUI, CUI Program Authority and Control, and CUI policy as promulgated under the U.S. Department of Defense CUI Program. (See 66 GC ¶

The U.S. Department of Defense’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Program will become operational at some point in fiscal year 2025. In October, the DOD issued a Final Rule to address evolving cybersecurity requirements and cyber threats while defining the security controls that DOD intends defense contractors and subcontractors to implement. The program will require

Contractors interested in offering federal agencies artificial intelligence (AI) can now glean insight into how agencies are expected to conduct AI acquisitions. On September 24, 2024, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued Memorandum M-24-18, Advancing the Responsible Acquisition of Artificial Intelligence in Government (the Memorandum), providing guidance and directing agencies “to improve their capacity for the responsible acquisition of AI” systems or services, including subcomponents. The Memorandum builds on the White House’s Executive Order 14110, Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, and OMB Memorandum M-24-10, Advancing Governance, Innovation, and Risk Management for Agency Use of Artificial Intelligence. Taking effect on March 23, 2025, M-24-18 will apply to all solicitations and contract option exercises for AI systems covered under the Memorandum.Continue Reading OMB Issues Guidance to Agencies on Responsible Artificial Intelligence Acquisitions

Over the course of the past few years, gallons of ink have been spilled addressing the seemingly ever-pending US Department of Defense’s (DoD) Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Program. After keeping us waiting for years, it finally arrived when, on October 15, 2024, DoD published its Final Rule to establish the CMMC Program. See 89 Fed. Reg. 83092 (Oct. 15, 2024). Effective December 16, 2024, the Rule will require certain defense contractors to have implemented security measures to achieve a particular CMMC level necessary to safeguard Federal Contract Information (FCI) or Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) as a condition of contract award. Codified at 34 C.F.R. Part 170, the CMMC Program will be augmented by a separate proposed acquisition rule to add a new 48 C.F.R. Part 204, amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to address procurement considerations related to the CMMC Program, including allowing DoD to require a specific CMMC level in a solicitation or contract. See 89 Fed. Reg. 66327 (Aug. 15, 2024) or our analyses here and here. The date when that DFARS clause will become final is still unclear, but most suspect it will be soon.Continue Reading A Standard on Many Levels: A Look at CMMC 2.0 in Final

Sequels are rarely better than the films that precede them, and yet, sometimes a story is just too compelling to be limited to just one film. At the tail end of a summer full of Hollywood sequels, the Department of Defense (DoD) released a long-gestating sequel of its own. On August 15, 2024, DoD published a Proposed Rule that would revise the DoD Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0 into DoD contracts in the near(ish) future. This follows a December 2023 Proposed Rule, discussed here, establishing the CMMC 2.0 requirements in broad strokes. In this latest Proposed Rule, DoD proposes several changes to the DFARS that would do the following:Continue Reading CMMC and DFARS 252.204-7021—Is the Sequel Better than the Original?

Cyber incidents involving critical infrastructure pose a serious risk to the US. In March 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Security Advisor warned state governors about potential attacks on drinking water and wastewater facilities by specific Iran- and China-aligned hackers. The following month (on April 4, 2024), in an attempt to prepare for such attacks and otherwise improve the federal government’s ability to collect and analyze data related to cyber incidents on critical infrastructure, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a proposed rule to implement cyber incident reporting requirements under the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 (CIRCIA). Enacted in an omnibus appropriation, CIRCIA directed CISA to issue rulemaking requiring the reporting of cyber incidents or the payment of ransoms in response to cyberattacks affecting critical infrastructure.  Continue Reading CISA’s CIRCIA Proposed Rule: Another Player Enters the Reporting Regime

On October 25, 2023, the Department of Defense (DoD) published a Proposed Rule amending the Department of Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) and permanently authorizing the DoD Mentor-Protégé Program (DoD MP Program). In addition, the Proposed Rule makes several changes to the program—the most prominent of which include (a) lowering barriers to entry and (b) adding additional benefits for prospective mentors and protégés. Before we dive in to the Proposed Rule, a brief history of the DoD MP Program is in order.Continue Reading DoD Mentor-Protégé Program Solidified under Proposed Rule

On June 2, 2023, the FAR Council issued an Interim Rule to implement the prohibition on having or using TikTok or any successor application or service developed or provided by ByteDance Limited (covered application). Importantly, the prohibition applies not only to Government-issued devices but encompasses contractor and contractor employee-owned devices (e.g., employee devices used as part of a bring-your-own-device program) as well. The Interim Rule took immediate effect and requires new FAR clause FAR 52.204-27, Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application, to be included in solicitations issued on or after June 2, 2023. In addition, solicitations issued before the effective date were required to be amended by July 3, 2023, provided that award of the resulting contract(s) occurs on or after the effective date. Existing indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts were required to be modified to include the new clause by July 3, 2023, to apply to future orders. Finally, if exercising an option or modifying an existing contract to extend the period of performance, contracting officers must include the clause. In short, this clause will soon be in most if not all Federal government contracts. Contractors should take action now to ensure that they are prepared to comply with these requirements and that employees are familiar with and trained regarding the prohibition.Continue Reading TikTok Dances Off of Contractor IT Devices—Interim Rule Prohibits ByteDance Limited Applications

In 2006, the documentary An Inconvenient Truth chronicled former Vice President Al Gore’s efforts to educate the public on the consequences of climate change. In the sixteen years since the Academy Award-winning film was released, public interest in the impact that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have had, are having, and will have on our planet has increased exponentially. Most recently, at the 27th U.N. Climate Conference (COP27), countries from around the globe came together to discuss the implementation of battle plans to combat climate change. One such plan, which was discussed at COP 27 by President Biden, is a new Proposed Rule that would require “significant” and “major” federal contractors to disclose their GHG emissions and climate-related financial risk as well as set science-based targets to reduce their GHG emissions. If and when the Proposed Rule is finalized, it will have seismic implications for contractors, in that it ties contractor responsibility (i.e., a contractor’s ability to receive federal awards) to compliance with these requirements.
Continue Reading An Inconvenient Requirement: New Proposed Rule Would Require Federal Contractors to Disclose Greenhouse Gas Emissions