ILC Dover Agrees to Pay Record High $13 Million to Settle Cybersecurity False Claims Act Case Brought by Whistleblower Law Collaborative Client

BOSTON, Nov. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Whistleblower Law Collaborative LLC is pleased to announce that the United States has settled a False Claims Act case brought by one of its clients.

Under the terms of the settlement, ILC Dover and ILC Astrospace, manufacturers of spacesuits and protective equipment for NASA and the U.S. Army, will pay $13 million to resolve allegations that the companies made false representations concerning compliance with required cybersecurity controls for safeguarding sensitive government information. This settlement represents the largest government cybersecurity fraud recovery to date under the Department of Justice Civil Cybersecurity Fraud program, which was first announced in October 2021.

ILC Dover, based in Frederica, Delaware, is a special engineering and manufacturing company working in the aerospace, medical device, pharmaceutical, and biopharmaceutical markets. ILC Dover is known for making space suits for NASA and protective equipment for the U.S. Department of Defense. In 2024, ILC Dover was acquired by Ingersoll Rand Inc.

Our Client's Lawsuit Reveals Significant Cybersecurity Failures

The case was brought by our client in January 2025 based on his concerns that ILC Dover had not fully implemented cybersecurity controls required under NIST SP 800-171 for protecting sensitive government data and information and failed to provide adequate cybersecurity on the information systems used to process, store, and transmit that data and information. Our client was also concerned that ILC Dover did not have a consolidated system security plan and that ILC Dover was using third-party cloud-based services that did not meet the relevant federal security requirements. In addition, our client was concerned that ILC Dover had posted improperly inflated SPRS assessment scores with the U.S. Department of Defense for its internal cybersecurity practices and policies.

Our client brought the ILC Dover cybersecurity failures to the attention of the government by filing a cybersecurity qui tam complaint under the False Claims Act. Under the False Claims Act, a private citizen (known as a "relator") who suspects or knows of fraud against the government can act as a whistleblower and file a sealed complaint on behalf of the government. If the case is successful, the relator is entitled to a share – between 15% and 30% – of the government's recovery. 

Government Officials Express Gratitude to Whistleblowers Who 'Do the Right Thing' By Reporting Cybersecurity Violations

The government investigated the allegations brought to light by our client and, on November 3, 2026, filed a notice of its intention to intervene against ILC Dover for the purpose of settlement. The Department of Justice further described the case and the $13 million settlement in its press release dated November 3, 2026.

"To protect sensitive information from cyber threats, defense and aerospace contractors must comply with the cybersecurity requirements in their federal contracts and subcontracts…We will continue our efforts to hold accountable government contractors and subcontractors that fail to meet their cybersecurity commitments."

Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate

"The obligations that ILC violated exist to prevent bad actors from taking advantage of the United States' technical innovation…My office is committed to ensuring that cybersecurity requirements in contracts are honored and that America's leadership in aerospace is protected."

U.S. Attorney Benjamin L. Wallace for the District of Delaware

"Those who jeopardize America's space program by ignoring government protocols will incur steep financial penalties…We are grateful to whistleblowers who do right by reporting these wrongs."

Robert Steinau, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations at the NASA Office of Inspector General

Recognition of Outstanding Government Efforts

Our client expresses his admiration for, and appreciation of, the outstanding efforts of the Commercial Litigation Branch of the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S Attorney's Office for the District of Delaware, and the relevant investigating agencies for conducting a thorough and prompt investigation which led to the record-setting settlement announced today. 

"Becoming a whistleblower was not an easy decision and one I only took when I felt I had no remaining options to protect sensitive government data and information. The Department of Justice, NASA, and the Department of Defense should be commended for acting promptly to investigate and put an end to practices that placed sensitive government information and data at risk of loss or compromise."

WLC Client

Whistleblower Law Collaborative commends the outstanding efforts of their client and the government prosecutors. Attorney Bruce C. Judge praised his client's willingness to stand his ground on protecting sensitive government information, actions which eventually cost him his job. Mr. Judge continued, "our client recognized the dangers created by corporate mishandling of sensitive government data and information and was able to identify numerous serious cybersecurity gaps clearly and persuasively to government prosecutors and agents."

Continued Cybersecurity Enforcement in the Defense Industrial Base

The record settlement announced today marks another important milestone in the government's long-running efforts to bring about cybersecurity compliance in the Defense Industrial Base (DIB). The ILC Dover settlement underscores that government contractors who fail to implement required cybersecurity controls can expect to face significant financial penalties. It also confirms that individuals who bring cybersecurity violations to the government's attention can receive a share of the government's ultimate recoveries. 

The ILC Dover cybersecurity fraud case was handled by WLC attorneys Bruce C. Judge and David W. S. Lieberman with support from WLC Paralegal Kelly J. Shivery. 

For each of the past two years, Mr. Judge has been named as one of the Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Cyber Lawyers.

Mr. Lieberman is a frequent lecturer on the False Claims Act and was a panelist on the topic Building Qui Tam and Cyber Fraud Cases Against Defense Contractors and their Private Equity Sponsors presented by the Federal Bar Association in August 2026. 

Ms. Shivery recently earned a designation as a CMMC Certified Professional from ISACA, after completing formal CMMC training, passing the Cyber AB certification examination, and obtaining the required DoD Tier 3 (T3) background clearance.

WLC fully expects that the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, NASA, and other government agencies will continue to investigate and prosecute matters involving the failure to implement required cybersecurity controls to safeguard sensitive government information and data.

If you are aware of situations in which a government contractor:

• Has failed to implement the cybersecurity controls required under NIST SP 800-171;
  
  
• Has failed to develop and implement a system security plan for any system or network used to process, store and/or transmit CUI or other sensitive government information or data;
  
  
• Is using third-party cloud-based services which services do not meet the relevant FedRAMP security requirements; or
  
  
• Has posted misleading or inaccurate SPRS scores for its cybersecurity compliance.

We urge you to contact us for a free, confidential consultation.

Whistleblower Law Collaborative devotes its practice entirely to representing whistleblowers. For more information, contact the firm at 617.366.2800 or email Bruce Judge at [email protected] or David Lieberman at [email protected].

SOURCE Whistleblower Law Collaborative LLC