FAR Cybersecurity Clauses for Government Contractors

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) contains several cybersecurity-relevant clauses applicable to all federal contracts, independent of agency-specific supplements like DFARS. FAR 52.204-21, "Basic Safeguarding of Covered Contractor Information Systems" (effective June 2016), requires contractors to apply 15 basic security controls (a subset of NIST SP 800-171) to any contractor information system that processes, stores, or transmits federal contract information (FCI). FAR 52.204-23, "Prohibition on Contracting for Hardware, Software, and Services Developed or Provided by Kaspersky Lab," prohibits use of Kaspersky products on federal contracts. FAR 52.239-1, "Privacy or Security Safeguards," requires contractors to provide privacy and security safeguards in contracts involving design, development, or operation of a system of records under the Privacy Act.

FAR Case 2021-017, the proposed "Cyber Threat and Incident Reporting and Information Sharing" rule, would add a new FAR clause requiring all federal contractors to: report cyber incidents to CISA within 8 hours of discovery; preserve images of compromised systems; and cooperate with government incident response. The proposed rule aligns with CIRCIA (Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022), which requires CISA to finalize incident reporting rules by 2025 that will mandate 72-hour incident reporting for covered critical infrastructure entities and 24-hour reporting for ransomware payments. The FAR cybersecurity proposed rule would apply to all federal contractors — not just DoD contractors — dramatically expanding mandatory incident reporting obligations. FAR Case 2023-001 proposes standardized cybersecurity requirements that would unify DoD DFARS and civilian agency FAR cybersecurity requirements.

FAR clause 52.204-25, "Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment," implements Section 889(a)(1)(A) of the NDAA for FY2019, prohibiting contractors from using equipment or services of covered companies (Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, Dahua) in the performance of any federal contract. FAR 52.204-26 adds a representation requirement: contractors must represent whether they will or will not use covered equipment. These clauses require contractors to audit their IT infrastructure, supply chain, and subcontractors for covered equipment — including network switches, routers, cameras, and wireless access points — not just end-user devices. Section 889(a)(1)(B), effective August 2020, prohibits contracting with entities that use covered equipment anywhere in their enterprise, not just in contract performance.

We conduct FAR cybersecurity clause compliance assessments that map client IT and supply chain inventories against all applicable FAR restrictions — including Section 889 equipment audits and FCI/CUI data flow analysis for 52.204-21 scoping. We implement the technical controls required by FAR 52.204-21, prepare incident response procedures aligned to proposed reporting timelines, and build contractor representations and certifications workflows into procurement processes.

Compliance-Native Architecture Guide

Design principles and a structured checklist for building software that is compliant by default — not compliant by retrofit. Covers data architecture, access controls, audit trails, and vendor due diligence.