DCMA’s Cybersecurity Oversight Takes Shape: Revised CPSR Guidebook Outlines DFARS Safeguarding Clause Audit Standards
Client Alert | 1 min read | 03.06.19
Following guidance issued by Under Secretary of Defense Lord, the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) has revised its Contractor Purchasing System Review (CPSR) Guidebook to incorporate new standards DCMA auditors will use to assess contractor supply chain management under the DFARS Safeguarding Clause 252.204-7012. Notably, the new standards require contractors to “validate” that their subcontractors have information systems “that can receive and protect” Covered Defense Information (CDI) and to “determine” whether subcontractor systems are “acceptable.” Other new standards require contractors to demonstrate:
- How CDI is properly marked and securely transferred to subcontractors; and
- How subcontractor notifications regarding requests to vary from the NIST requirements and the submission of cyber incident reports are managed and documented.
The revisions also emphasize that 252.204-7012 is not an indiscriminate flowdown and applies only where the subcontractor will be utilized for operationally critical support or performing duties that involve CDI.
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Client Alert | 3 min read | 03.03.25
HHS Suggests It Will Provide Less Notice and Opportunity for Comment on Grant and Contract Rules
On February 28, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it was rescinding the Richardson Waiver, a policy in place since 1971 which said HHS would provide notice of proposed rulemaking in certain cases where it was not otherwise required to do so by law. This announcement signals a policy shift for the agency and suggests that where permitted by law, HHS will generally now issue rules relating to “agency management or personnel or to public property, loans, grants, benefits, or contracts” without providing notice and comment to stakeholders, and may otherwise find good cause to forego notice and comment procedures.
Client Alert | 2 min read | 02.28.25
Client Alert | 1 min read | 02.28.25
Client Alert | 3 min read | 02.28.25
