The Rise of OTAs in Defense Contracting: Opportunities, Risks, and What Contractors Need to Know
Podcast - Navigating the Updated SF-328 Form
Podcast - A Comparative Guide to Obtaining an FCL: DCSA vs. the Intelligence Community
Diversifying Your Contract Pipeline by Maximizing Opportunities through the DOD’s Mentor Protégé Program
A Comprehensive Overview of FOCI Mitigation
Podcast - Defense Dynamics: Navigating the Post-Election Landscape for the National Security Sector, Part 2
Mitigating FOCI Under Section 847
Episode 345 -- Raytheon Pays $950 Million to Resolve Fraud, FCPA, ITAR and False Claims Act Violations
Everyone Come to Play: Exploring FOCI Mitigation Instruments
Defense Dynamics: Navigating the Post-Election Landscape for the National Security Sector
Podcast - Navigating M&A Due Diligence: Safeguarding Security Clearances
Podcast - Change Condition Packages: Tips for Cleared Contractors
Podcast - Corporate Documents in the Context of Clearances
Navigating Personnel Security Clearances (PCLs)
Cybersecurity Insights: Updates on CMMC Implementation and CUI Identification
What Is an FCL and How Do I Obtain One?
Protecting Our Nation’s Data: Cybersecurity Compliance for Government Contractors
Intellectual Property In Department of Defense Contracting
The When, Where, Why and How of CMMC with Fernando Machado
Earlier this year, the Department of Defense (DoD) published an “Intellectual Property Guidebook for DoD Acquisition.” It is the culmination of many years of work and the most insightful data rights guidance out of the...more
On April 15, 2025, the Department of Defense (DoD) released official guidance on Organizationally Defined Parameters (ODPs) appearing in the newly published NIST SP 800-171 Revision 3. At the same time, the DoD reaffirmed...more
In celebration of the release of the 6th Edition of the Government Contracts Compliance Handbook, we are sharing six essential tips for avoiding product substitution issues in government contracting. Product substitution is...more
There is no law or regulation instructing contractors how to mark commercial technical data delivered to the Department of Defense (DoD). Yet the DoD Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) is quite clear that...more
On January 15, 2025, the FAR Council finally released a proposed rule (the Rule)1 regulating the use and handling of controlled unclassified information (CUI) as a part of the general strategy to reduce threats of...more
As of January 17, 2025, the Department of Defense’s data rights regulations and contract clauses look a little different, yet substantively very little has changed. The update is to formally incorporate changes the Small...more
FY2025 NDAA: Significant Impacts on Small and Large Defense Contractors - The Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY2025 NDAA), signed into law on December...more
On January 15, 2025, the Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (collectively, “the FAR Council”) issued a long-anticipated proposed...more
After years of anticipation, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council has announced the arrival of its proposed rule to enhance the safeguarding of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in federal contracts (the...more
On December 23, 2024, President Biden signed the Source Code Harmonization and Reuse in Information Technology Act (“SHARE IT Act” or “the Act”), which provides a formal mechanism for federal agencies to store and share...more
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...more
Note to research compliance officials still digesting news of Pennsylvania State’s recent $1.25 million settlement over False Claims Act (FCA) allegations related to cybersecurity and the government’s recent intervention in a...more
On October 15, 2024, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) released its final rule (the “Final Rule”) formally establishing the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (“CMMC”) program, nearly three years after first...more
After numerous fits and starts, on October 14, the Department of Defense (DoD) published a final rule implementing the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program. Borne from documented deficiencies in the...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) secured another win for its Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative last week when it resolved a False Claims Act (FCA) action[1] alleging Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) failed to comply with...more
Less than 10 months after the issuance of its proposed rule, DoD has issued this final rule establishing the CMMC program. DoD’s issuance of the final rule demonstrates the government’s continued commitment to...more
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has published a Final Rule to implement the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program, which establishes minimum cybersecurity requirements for nearly all DOD contracts....more
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has long questioned whether contractors and their supply chains have been fully compliant with existing cybersecurity requirements aimed at protecting Controlled Unclassified Information...more
Some might say there’s little difference between dealing with the devil and being a federal contractor. And for the unwary or unprepared, that may not be far off. Federal contracting comes with a litany of “fine print” that...more
Cybersecurity requirements for federal contractors and grantees continue to proliferate—and those requirements do not just come with contractual risk. Increasingly, the United States government is leveraging enforcement...more
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) issued the proposed Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) rules that will implement the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program. These rules, which...more
The DoD takes yet another step towards full implementation of CMMC 2.0. The proposed rule aims to implement many of the aspects of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program by amending the Department of...more
On July 9, 2024, District Judge David Hale in Kentucky denied motions to dismiss and motions to suppress filed by four defendants against a criminal case involving ITAR charges for illegal exports of sensitive,...more
On May 2, 2024, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a class deviation to DFARS 252.204-7012, Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting. The deviation relates to contractors’ compliance with...more
Over the holidays, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) issued proposed rules for updating its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program from its existing Defense Acquisition Regulatory Supplement (DFARS)...more