August 24, 2026. After receiving the Whistleblower’s False Claims Act qui tam complaint, the United States Department of Justice investigated and resolved the lawsuit against Honeywell Aerospace Inc. A copy of the Whistleblower (Relator) Team’s complaint is here. A copy of the Department of Justice settlement agreement is here. A copy of the Court’s Order on the United States Notice of Election to Intervene and to Unseal is here.
The settlement resolved allegations that Honeywell Aerospace knowingly submitted false claims for payment during the period April 1, 2020, through December 31, 2023, under a specific government contract resulting from Honeywell Aerospace not complying with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SP 800-171 with respect to Honeywell Aerospace’s Grey Network and Gold Network, as required by the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 252.204-7012 and by a specific government contract.
The whistleblower, also known as a qui tam relator, was a former employee of Honeywell International. The case highlighted the critical role employees of government contractors play in disclosing to the U.S. Department of Justice known cybersecurity failures at their place of work. According to the Department of Justice, “The False Claims Act and its whistleblower provisions are crucial tools for ensuring that public funds are spent properly and in the public interest.”
Civil prosecutors for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina in Charlotte and the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Frauds Section, are responsible for this important resolution. Whistleblower attorneys Renée Brooker and Eva Gunasekera represented the Whistleblower or Qui Tam Relator. Contact them at reneebrooker@tzlegal.com and eva@tzlegal.com. This settlement exemplifies the success of the False Claims Act public-private partnership between the U.S. Department of Justice and Whistleblowers to hold corporate America accountable for known-but-unmitigated cybersecurity failures that impact government contracts and taxpayer funds.
If you believe you may have knowledge of any of the conduct below, the Department of Justice is interested in speaking with you. You can contact the Whistleblower (Relator’s) Attorneys who handled this case for a free consultation at reneebrooker@tzlegal.com or eva@tzlegal.com.
The Department of Justice Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative is looking for employees (or other insiders) with knowledge and will hold accountable organizations that put U.S. information or systems at risk by:
- knowingly providing deficient cybersecurity products or service;
- knowingly misrepresenting their cybersecurity practices or protocols, or
- knowingly violating obligations to monitor and report cybersecurity incidents and breaches.
On January 16, 2026, DOJ reinforced its commitment to these kinds of cases. “The Department also continued to advance cases holding government contractors and grantees accountable when they knowingly violate applicable cybersecurity requirements.”