Category: Michael J. Montalbano

The CARES Act Provides Much Needed Financial Relief for Small Businesses

Michael Joseph Montalbano

On March 27, 2020, Congress passed, and the President signed into law, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”). The CARES Act is a massive $2.2 trillion law designed to stabilize the United States’ economy as the country deals with the novel coronavirus COVID-19.

One major component of the CARES Act is the $349 billion set-aside to provide relief for small businesses in the form of loans and other financial resources. Here we discuss the major components of this program that all small businesses need to know before deciding whether they should apply for one of these loans. Continue reading “The CARES Act Provides Much Needed Financial Relief for Small Businesses”

New DoD Cybersecurity Regulations Are Coming—Is Your Company Ready?

Michael Joseph Montalbano

In January, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) released more information on its much-anticipated Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (“CMMC”) framework. While a final rule is not expected until the fall, contractors need to begin preparing now so they do not miss out on DoD contract opportunities.

What Is the CMMC?

The CMMC is a certification system that all DoD prime and subcontractors must comply with to be eligible to compete for and perform future DoD contracts. Under the new CMMC requirements, an accreditation body tapped by DoD will begin training third-party assessors in the spring of 2020, who will in turn certify defense contractors under the CMMC. There will be five CMMC certification levels, of ascending sophistication:

    • Level 1 – Basic Cyber Hygiene
    • Level 2 – Intermediate Cyber Hygiene
    • Level 3 – Good Cyber Hygiene
    • Level 4 – Proactive
    • Level 5 – Advanced / Progressive

The contractor must comply with a combination of the following cybersecurity safeguards, depending on the certification level a contractor wants to achieve: (1) FAR 52.204 (Basic Safeguarding of Covered Contractor Information Systems); (2) NIST Special Publication 800-171 Revision 1 (“NIST Requirements”); (3) select subsets of a supplement to the NIST Requirements called NIST SP 800-171B; and (4) up to 171 “practices” identified in the CMMC. Though this may sound like a lot for contractors to process, DoD has released helpful appendices that put many of the requirements in easy-to-understand terms. Continue reading “New DoD Cybersecurity Regulations Are Coming—Is Your Company Ready?”

Agency Protests: An Emerging Tool and Potential Threat for Contractors

Merle M. DeLancey Jr. and Michael Joseph Montalbano

In May 2018, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) implemented a $350 filing fee for bid protests. There are differences of opinion regarding why GAO implemented the fee. GAO publicly states that the fee was implemented to cover the costs of its new Electronic Protest Docket System (“EPDS”). Many, however, believe the fee was implemented to deter the filing of frivolous protests. Regardless, there “may” be an unintended consequence of the protest filing fee—an increase in agency-level protests. Recently, several agency contracting officers have stated that they are handling more agency protests, and, in their opinion, it is a direct result of GAO’s protest filing fee. As a result, contractors should understand and be prepared to mitigate the risk of agency protests to protect their contracts and position themselves for new ones.

Pros and Cons of Agency Protests Continue reading “Agency Protests: An Emerging Tool and Potential Threat for Contractors”

Cybersecurity Could Make or Break Defense Contractors’ Chances of Future Awards

Michael Joseph Montalbano

Cost, schedule, and performance, the three pillars of defense procurement, may soon be accompanied by a fourth pillar: cybersecurity. As the nature of warfare evolves away from pure kinetic capabilities to the asymmetric, cyber realm, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) has had to grapple with the reality that its defense contractors are prime targets for infiltration. Indeed, in the February 2018 Worldwide Threat Assessment, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats specifically identifies defense contractors and IT communications firms as the primary focal points of China—one of the United States’ primary cyber adversaries. As a result of this new reality, DoD has begun the process of revamping the defense procurement system to place greater emphasis on cybersecurity. In response to these moves by DoD, contractors should take a fresh look at their current operations to identify their own cyber vulnerabilities as well as the vulnerabilities of their subcontractors, suppliers, and other partners. Without adequate preparation, contractors risk finding themselves at a significant disadvantage during future contract bids. Continue reading “Cybersecurity Could Make or Break Defense Contractors’ Chances of Future Awards”

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