Cybersecurity · Industry brief

David S. Cohen, former CIA Deputy Director and Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, has returned to WilmerHale as senior counsel. Cohen will advise clients on national security and regulatory enforcement matters, including cybersecurity, CFIUS review, and defense of government investigations and enforcement actions. His return strengthens WilmerHale's capabilities in handling complex regulatory and enforcement issues at the intersection of national security and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.

Cyera, a data security company, raised $400 million at a $12 billion valuation from Goldman Sachs Alternatives as an extension of its Series G round, bringing total funding to over $2.7 billion. The company acquired agentic access management provider Oasis Security for $1 billion in late July. Cyera's platform unifies Data Security Posture Management, Data Loss Prevention, and identity access governance, with capabilities for securing AI operations and monitoring data inputs to language models. The company serves over 1,500 employees and claims its solutions are used by 20% of Fortune 500 companies.

DOJ settled with Honeywell Aerospace Inc. for $2,042,518 over allegations that a business unit submitted false claims for payment while failing to comply with NIST SP 800-171 cybersecurity requirements mandated through DFARS 252.204-7012 on a Department of War contract. The settlement, announced September 1, originated from a 2022 qui tam whistleblower action by a former employee and underscores DOJ's Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative launched in 2021 to pursue contractors for cybersecurity compliance failures. DOJ reported a record 1,297 qui tam lawsuits filed in FY 2025, the highest ever recorded, with the agency specifically identifying contractors' knowing violations of cybersecurity requirements as a continued enforcement priority. Notably, the government focused on Honeywell's failure to satisfy required NIST SP 800-171 controls rather than any identified cyberattack or breach, confirming that FCA exposure can arise from gaps between contractual cybersecurity obligations and actual compliance posture absent a security incident. Defense contractor LOGZONE Inc. similarly agreed to pay $507,144 earlier this year for alleged NIST SP 800-171 non-compliance under Navy contracts through the same enforcement mechanism, reflecting an emerging pattern of regulatory action against defense contractors on cybersecurity compliance grounds. The source is JD Supra reporting on DOJ enforcement actions.

Exein, an Italian cybersecurity startup specializing in Physical AI security for connected systems, reached a $1.7 billion valuation after closing a $270 million Series C financing round led by Headline in September 2026. The oversubscribed round included participation from Sofina, Goldman Sachs, the European Investment Bank, KfW Capital, Deutsche Telekom's T.Capital venture arm, and existing investors. The funding will support Exein's expansion into the United States and Asia-Pacific markets, as well as development of autonomous security agents powered by a proprietary foundation model trained on telemetry from over 2 billion devices. Orrick LLP advised Headline on the transaction.