The federal government is keeping a watchful eye on exports to foreign countries, wary of any shipment of sensitive technology to foreign powers like China and Russia, and it’s coming down hard on companies that don’t comply. 

United Technologies found that out the hard way and lawyers say its poor response to allegations of export control law violations offers plenty of lessons for government contractors.

Jaclyn Jaeger is a freelance contributor to Compliance Week after working for the company for 15 years. She writes on a wide variety of topics, including ethics and compliance, risk management, legal,...