Upping the Cyber Oversight Ante: DoD Deploys DCMA to Audit Contractor Supply Chain Compliance
Client Alert | 1 min read | 01.28.19
The Defense Department has unveiled plans to audit contractors’ supply chain compliance with the DFARS Safeguarding Clause 252.204-7012. Under the auspices of 252.244-7001, Contractor Purchasing System Administration, Under Secretary of Defense Ellen Lord has directed the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) to review contractors’ purchasing systems with the intent of verifying compliance with the Safeguarding Clause’s flowdown requirements. Notably though, the scope of DCMA’s review appears broader than the Clause’s textual requirements. Specifically, DCMA will review contractor procedures to:
- Ensure that Tier 1 Level Suppliers are receiving properly marked Covered Defense Information (CDI), or instructions on how to do so; and
- “Assess compliance” of Tier 1 Level Suppliers with both the Clause and NIST SP 800-171.
The memorandum is the latest signal from the DoD that it views the Safeguarding Clause’s flowdown requirements as more than a check-the-box exercise and an increasingly important piece of its overall cybersecurity.
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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
