DOJ’s Increasing Focus on Cybersecurity Compliance in Healthcare

AGG Litigation & Dispute Resolution partner and co-chair of the Life Sciences industry team, Gabe Scannapieco, authored an article for the American Bar Association’s Health Law Section explaining the cybersecurity obligations for the U.S. Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative (“CCFI”). He provided insight on how organizations can set themselves up to meet the regulatory expectations.

Gabe explained how the focus of the CCFI has shifted from cybersecurity failures to allegations of fraud. He also highlighted key settlements that represent the DOJ’s initiative to take on healthcare and academic cybersecurity inaccuracies. Gabe clarified that any cybersecurity promises made to the government are at the same level as any material representation under the False Claims Act.

“DOJ’s CCFI settlements have demonstrated that even modest deficiencies can carry significant financial and reputational consequences when paired with inaccurate certifications,” said Gabe. “The DOJ’s recent cases underscore that careless or overly optimistic certifications can be as risky as intentional falsehoods.”

To read the full article, please click here (subscription required).