The Justice Department announced today that Honeywell Aerospace Inc. has agreed to pay $2,042,518 to resolve allegations that it is liable under the False Claims Act for failing to comply with cybersecurity requirements in a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense. Honeywell Aerospace, a corporation headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, provides aerospace products and solutions to government and commercial customers. Prior to June 29, when Honeywell Aerospace became a standalone public company, it was a business segment of Honeywell International Inc., of Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Government contractors that obtain defense information in administering their contracts must follow required cybersecurity standards,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will continue to investigate potential violations of these cybersecurity requirements to protect this critical information.”
“Cybersecurity requirements and standards for federal contractors are in place for a reason: to protect government systems and prevent unauthorized access to government data,” said U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson for the Western District of North Carolina. “Companies that seek and profit off of government contracts have an obligation to ensure sensitive data is protected.”
The settlement resolves allegations that from April 2020 through December 2023, a business unit of Honeywell International Inc. submitted false claims for payment by failing to comply with cybersecurity requirements specified in National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171, with respect to one of Honeywell’s networks, as required by the contract and regulation.
The allegations resolved by this settlement arose from a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act under which private citizens can sue on behalf of the government and share in any recovery. The settlement in this case provides for the whistleblower, Rachel Tenney, a former employee of Honeywell, to receive $375,823 as her share of the settlement.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Department of Justice Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
The matter was handled by Senior Trial Counsel Greg Pearson and Assistant U.S. Attorney Holly Snow for the Western District of North Carolina.
The lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Rachel Tenney v. Honeywell International Inc., Civil Action No. 3:22-cv-129 (W.D.N.C.).
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
