US Government Launches New Civil Cyber Fraud Initiative - Justice Dept.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Biden administration has created a new Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative to combat new and emerging cyber threats to critical systems, the US Justice Department said in a press release.

“Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced today the launch of the [Justice] Department’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, which will combine the department’s expertise in civil fraud enforcement, government procurement and cybersecurity to combat new and emerging cyber threats,” the release said on Wednesday.

The initiative will hold accountable entities or individuals that put US information or systems at risk by knowingly providing deficient cybersecurity products or services, knowingly misrepresenting their practices or knowingly violating obligations to report breaches, the release said.

“For too long, companies have chosen silence under the mistaken belief that it is less risky to hide a breach than to bring it forward and to report it. Well that changes today. We are announcing today that we will use our civil enforcement tools to pursue companies,” Monaco said in the release.

The new initiative will utilize the False Claims Act to pursue cybersecurity related fraud by government contractors and grant recipients and it will hold government contractors and grantees accountable to their commitments to protect government information and infrastructure, the release added.