As we write about regularly, the False Claims Act (FCA) is the government’s most powerful civil fraud-fighting tool, giving the government the ability to conduct sweeping investigations and pursue treble (3x) damages and per-claim penalties. Moreover, the FCA’s qui tam provisions allow private whistleblowers to file lawsuits in exchange for a monetary reward of between 15 and 30% of the government’s recovery.
It makes sense, then, the government and the qui tam plaintiff’s bar are always looking for novel legal theories that they can shoehorn into an FCA lawsuit. One of the newest of these trends is to turn alleged cybersecurity vulnerabilities and lapses into FCA liability. And, regardless of what one thinks about the viability of this theory, it seems to be working.
Recently, on July 31, 2025, the DOJ announced that Illumina, a California-based manufacturer of genomic sequencing systems, agreed to pay $9.8 million to resolve allegations that it violated the FCA “when it sold to federal agencies certain genomic sequencing systems with cybersecurity vulnerabilities.” Specifically, the government alleges that for a period of over 7 years, Illumina sold these systems to the government “without having an adequate security program and sufficient quality systems to identify and address those vulnerabilities.” This includes:
- failing to incorporate product cybersecurity in its software design, development, installation, and on-market monitoring;
- failing to properly support and resource personnel, systems, and processes tasked with product security;
- failing to adequately correct design features that introduced cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the genomic sequencing systems; and
- falsely representing that the software on the genomic sequencing systems adhered to certain cybersecurity standards.
The government’s press release suggests that these requirements were contained in Illumina’s contract with agencies within the DoD.
The settlement was the result of a qui tam whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former Illumina executive, who will receive $1.9 million as her share of the settlement.
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The attorneys at Chilivis Grubman represent businesses and individuals in connection with False Claims Act investigations and litigation. If you need assistance with such a matter, contact us today.