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Government contractor cybersecurity, explained clearly and implemented practically.

Plain-language guidance on the cybersecurity requirements that attach to federal contracts — FAR 52.204-21, DFARS 252.204-7012, CMMC, CUI, NIST SP 800-171, FedRAMP, incident reporting, and the clauses that turn cybersecurity into procurement risk.

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Federal Requirements Cybersecurity Frameworks Protected Information State & Local Enforcement Research Library

Start Here: The Baseline You Already Owe

Before any FAR or DFARS clause applies, federal and state law already requires your business to secure data and report breaches — the FTC Act, all-50-state breach laws, and rules like GLBA and HIPAA. The contractor requirements build on top of that legal baseline. Make sure you meet it first.

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Recent Developments

August 2026Rule Updates

Maryland Just Widened Which State Contracts Carry Cyber and Privacy Clauses — Effective October 1

The Maryland Data Privacy and Protection Act of 2026 (Chapter 435, House Bill 264) takes effect October 1, 2026 and rewrites State Finance and Procurement § 13-115. Collecting, storing, or processing personal information is now an independent trigger for mandatory security, data collection, and privacy requirements in Maryland State contracts — no connection to a State system required — and the statutory definition of personal information expanded at the same time.

August 2026Rule Updates

CISA Published the Logging Reference Architecture — and Contractor-Operated Systems Are In Scope

CISA published the Logging Reference Architecture on August 20, 2026, implementing OMB Memorandum M-26-14, which rescinded M-21-31 and put federal civilian agencies on a maturity clock for how they log, retain, and produce network data. The memorandum reaches systems operated “by third parties on the agency’s behalf” — so contractor-run systems are inside the agency’s plan, and the obligation will arrive through contract terms rather than the memo itself.

August 2026Case Law

The Certifier That Did Not Exist: AiNET, the SEC, and the Cost of a Fabricated Certification

DOJ announced a $1,800,000 False Claims Act settlement with AiNET Corp. and former CEO Deepak Jain over allegations that they certified a data center inspection by an entity the United States alleged was not an operating company and never performed the inspection. The standard at issue was infrastructure resilience, but the legal theory is the same one driving cyber enforcement — and it lands as third-party validation becomes the price of eligibility.

August 2026Case Law

When Your Own Security Plan Becomes the Government's Evidence: The Health Net/Centene TRICARE Settlement

The government did not measure this contractor against an outside benchmark. It measured the contractor against the remediation deadlines the contractor wrote for itself — and that was enough to support an $11.25 million False Claims Act resolution.

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Not Sure Where to Start?

GovConCyber is a free legal reference — not a law firm. We cover the federal cybersecurity rules that apply to government contractors: what they require, who they apply to, and what you need to do. Start here if you're new to the site.

Find My Requirements

Answer a few questions about your contract type and data to get a plain-language summary of your obligations.

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New to Cyber Compliance?

Start with the fundamentals: what the key frameworks are, why they exist, and how they affect your contracts.

Read the basics →

Look Up a Term

Plain-language definitions for CUI, CMMC, DFARS, FedRAMP, and many other key terms.

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Research

Original, source-anchored analysis on the harder questions — where requirements, contracts, data-handling, and enforcement intersect.

Cybersecurity Requirements Beyond CMMC

The obligations that reach contractors outside the CMMC conversation — the FAR baseline, civilian-agency clauses, cloud, incident reporting, and enforcement.

Protected Information in Practice

How to identify, mark, handle, and flow down the categories of information federal contracts protect — CUI and beyond.

The Requirements Map →CMMC Phase-In Tracker →CIRCIA Watch →All Research →

Browse the Reference Library

Federal Requirements

FAR, DFARS, frameworks, and agency-specific rules

State Requirements

State-level cyber laws affecting government contractors

Industries

Sector-specific obligations: defense, healthcare, finance, and more

Compliance Resources

Requirement triage, roadmaps, educational self-checks, and reference aids for planning compliance work.

Research

Original analysis — beyond CMMC, protected information, maps and trackers

Enforcement

Actions, penalties, and False Claims Act case law

Learn

Cybersecurity 101 and a plain-language glossary

Work with GovConCyber

Bring the analysis to your team or audience

GovConCyber is a free reference first. When you need that analysis applied — explained to a room, or mapped to your actual contracts — these are the ways to go further.

Speaking

Plain-language sessions on CMMC, CUI, and the requirements beyond CMMC — for conferences, bar associations, APEX Accelerator programs, and internal briefings.

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Advisory

The Compliance Roadmap Assessment™ — a structured readiness review that maps which requirements apply to your contracts and what to prioritize. Not a CMMC assessment or legal advice.

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