The Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Information Technology is the largest IT organization within the Department of Homeland Security with a budget of $1.8 billion. OIT recently released a refreshed IT strategy to guide the agency’s goals and priorities for the next five years. Here’s a look at the six key IT efforts CBP is focusing on in the coming years.
Hear insights from multiple CBP decision makers — including OIT CTO Sunil Madhugiri — at the 2024 Homeland Security Summit, hosted by the Potomac Officers Club on Nov. 13. Don’t miss your opportunity to meet, learn from and network with the foremost homeland security experts and leaders at this day-long event. Register for the 2024 Homeland Security Summit to join the conversation.
Mission Infrastructure
Under the first goal in CBP’s new IT strategy, the agency will “continuously provide innovative, near-real time infrastructure capabilities to ensure a secure, reliable, and scalable IT infrastructure at the speed of CBP’s mission through collaboration with application teams and our trusted partners to accelerate and optimize delivery.”
Some of the objectives under this goal include delivering cloud services, achieving enterprise network mobility and establishing a modern integrated network with edge-to-edge security.
Mission Applications
This component of the IT strategy covers building “mission-aligned applications” and software, and it notably focuses on the responsible deployment of artificial intelligence.
OIT will “support CBP’s evolution into a more data-driven organization that rapidly accelerates the operational use of AI across the entire agency, achieving real mission outcomes guided by Responsible AI Principles,” the strategy states.
For CBP, machine learning, deep learning, generative AI, computer vision, natural language processing, are all under the AI umbrella and are part of the agency’s broader goal to achieve enterprise AI adoption.
Operational/Information Technology
CBP wants to “bring physical equipment into the digital realm” under this goal, with a major focus on the tactical edge.
The agency aims to define the edge, develop enterprise edge infrastructure, implement edge architecture and policies and integrate with edge mission operations.
The strategy notes that CBP has been centralizing its IT capabilities into data centers and cloud environments, which has reduced costs and increased scalability. But now, with the increasing amount of data created and consumed at the edge, new challenges have emerged, and CBP is focusing heavily on solving these challenges in mission environments.
Cybersecurity
“CBP’s strategic cybersecurity goal will close the gap between increasingly sophisticated and persistent threat actors and CBP’s adoption of the right technology, people, and processes,” the strategy states. “Shifting and competing priorities make it difficult for federal agencies to maintain state-of-the-art capabilities, but without effective cybersecurity measures, CBP’s entire mission is at risk.”
Ransomware, supply chain threats and phishing campaigns top the list of cyber threats to CBP’s systems. To combat these threats, CBP will focus on cyber hygiene, improve threat detection and response and implement a zero trust architecture, among other initiatives.
IT/IRM Governance
For CBP, this component of the IT strategy involves “getting IT right.” This goal is all about the frameworks, policies and governance behind the IT.
The agency will strive to “improve IT governance capabilities, resources and tools to maximize enterprise-wide efficiencies and enhance customer experience through disciplined performance and business intelligence.”
CIO Business Operations
In the final focus area outlined in the IT strategy, CBP OIT plans to improve the customer experience.
The agency aims to “provide OIT customers with a common, shared user experience to deliver holistic, end-to-end services by collaborating across strategy, budget, acquisition and workforce activities.”
CBP will work to improve cost and budget transparency, procurement and acquisition support, the OIT workforce experience and workforce management.
Learn more about CBP OIT’s upcoming initiatives, contracts and IT efforts at the 2024 Homeland Security Summit on Nov. 13! Save your seat today.
