Aerojet Rocketdyne, which makes propulsion and power systems for launch vehicles, missiles and satellites for NASA and the US military, has agreed to pay $9 million to settle charges it misrepresented its products’ compliance with cybersecurity requirements in federal government contracts.
The El Segundo, California-based company has a deep history in American space and military contracting, including on long-term development efforts such as a hypersonic cruise missile design, recently tested by DARPA and manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne and Lockheed Martin.
The settlement stems from a five-year-old whistleblower lawsuit brought by former Aerojet employee Brian Markus. Federal district judge William Shubb last week approved the out-of-court deal struck by the biz and Markus, who joined the defense contractor in 2014 as senior director of cybersecurity, compliance, and controls. He is set to receive a $2.61 million share of the False Claims Act recovery.
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Source: The Register