DFARS Subpart 252.204 (Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting)

Scope and obligations

Defense-acquisition-specific information-security regulation. Core clauses: (1) DFARS 252.204-7012 (adopted 2015, current consolidated 2020) — requires contractors handling Covered Defense Information (CDI) on covered contractor information systems to implement NIST SP 800-171 r2 security controls + report cyber incidents to DoD within 72 hours; (2) DFARS 252.204-7019 / -7020 / -7021 (CMMC interim rule Nov 2020) — implements the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification framework requiring increasingly stringent third-party attestation of NIST 800-171 implementation by contract tier. AI relevance: (a) AI-system source code, model weights, training data, and architecture documentation produced or stored on contractor systems fall within CDI when the underlying contract is so designated; (b) cyber-incident reporting in 252.204-7012(c) applies equally to AI-system compromise events (training-data exfiltration, model-weight theft, prompt-injection-based credential exposure); (c) supply-chain risk-management linkages with FAR Part 4 Subpart 4.21 + the DoD RAI S&IP supply-chain tenet. Distinct from AI-specific DFARS clauses under consideration as part of DoD Acquisition Innovation initiatives — none of which have been finalised at the catalog-write date.

DFARS Subpart 252.204 (Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting) addresses 2 contested AI-governance topics explicitly, 2 via general principles,.

Topics governed

• implicit
  Foundation Models / GPAI— 252.204-7012 — AI-system source code, model weights, training data fall within Covered Defense Information scope when the underlying contract designates these as CDI; foundation-model artefacts are CDI through the standard contract designation pathway
• implicit
  Compute-Threshold Reporting— Cyber-incident reporting under 252.204-7012(c) — 72-hour DoD notification covers AI-system compromise events including model-weight theft + prompt-injection-based credential exposure; broader AI-use disclosure flows through M-24-10 not DFARS
• governs
  Training-Data Rights— 252.204-7012 — training-data sets stored on covered contractor information systems require NIST SP 800-171 implementation when designated CDI; data-spill / exfiltration events trigger 72-hour cyber-incident reporting under 252.204-7012(c)

  §Art. 252.204-7012(c)paraphrase

  When the Contractor discovers a cyber incident that affects a covered contractor information system … the Contractor shall … rapidly report cyber incidents to DoD … within 72 hours of discovery.

  source ↗
• governs
  National Security Carveouts in AI Regulation— 252.204-7012 + CMMC clauses (-7019/-7020/-7021) are the operative national-security-overlay framework for defence-acquisition information security; the subpart IS the carveout regime

  §Art. 252.204-7012(b)paraphrase

  The Contractor shall provide adequate security on all covered contractor information systems … by implementing NIST Special Publication 800-171, Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Systems…

  source ↗

Cross-jurisdiction comparison

How peer instruments treat the topics DFARS Subpart 252.204 (Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting) governs.

°= industry self-imposed voluntary framework. Comparing a voluntary code's "governs" tint with a binding regulation's "governs" tint flattens the legal-force distinction; use the instrument-page banner for the operative status of each.

How to cite this article

Policy Window. (2020). DFARS Subpart 252.204 (Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting) [Wiki article — Instrument]. https://policywindow.org/wiki/dfars-252-204

Policy Window. 2020. "DFARS Subpart 252.204 (Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting)." Wiki article (Instrument). https://policywindow.org/wiki/dfars-252-204.

@misc{policywindow-dfars-252-204,
  title  = {DFARS Subpart 252.204 (Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting)},
  author = {Policy Window},
  year   = {2020},
  howpublished = {Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, Subpart 204.73 + clauses 252.204-7012 (Safeguarding Covered Defense Information), 252.204-7019/-7020/-7021 (CMMC) (48 C.F.R. ch. 2). Current consolidated subpart per the DoD Procurement Toolbox + acquisition.gov.},
  url    = {https://policywindow.org/wiki/dfars-252-204},
  note   = {Primary source: https://www.acquisition.gov/dfars/subpart-204.73-safeguarding-covered-defense-information-and-cyber-incident-reporting}
}

References

1. Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, Subpart 204.73 + clauses 252.204-7012 (Safeguarding Covered Defense Information), 252.204-7019/-7020/-7021 (CMMC) (48 C.F.R. ch. 2). Current consolidated subpart per the DoD Procurement Toolbox + acquisition.gov.
2. 252.204-7012 — AI-system source code, model weights, training data fall within Covered Defense Information scope when the underlying contract designates these as CDI; foundation-model artefacts are CDI through the standard contract designation pathway
3. Cyber-incident reporting under 252.204-7012(c) — 72-hour DoD notification covers AI-system compromise events including model-weight theft + prompt-injection-based credential exposure; broader AI-use disclosure flows through M-24-10 not DFARS
4. 252.204-7012 — training-data sets stored on covered contractor information systems require NIST SP 800-171 implementation when designated CDI; data-spill / exfiltration events trigger 72-hour cyber-incident reporting under 252.204-7012(c)
5. 252.204-7012 + CMMC clauses (-7019/-7020/-7021) are the operative national-security-overlay framework for defence-acquisition information security; the subpart IS the carveout regime