The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency is targeting artificial intelligence, cloud migration, and biometric assessments in its modernization efforts.
Jayaprakash Alalasundaram, deputy assistant commissioner and deputy chief information officer (CIO) at CBP, said the agency is focusing further on implementing its cloud adoption, AI augmentation, and use of biometric assessments throughout its security processes at MeriTalk’s “Mission Software Unleashed” webinar in partnership with Leidos.
“CBP is making thoughtful technological advancements around AI, open architecture, and cloud technology that promote innovation and adaptation, that allows us to successfully execute our mission,” Alalasundaram said.
Alalasundaram said CBP is piloting programs with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to implement facial scanning for global traveler identification and other processes to expedite travel. He also said CBP is working to utilize AI in identifying security threats related to human and drug trafficking through airports.
“Our main goal is to ensure our officers and agents have the resources that they need to do their jobs safely and that we remove all the administrative burden from them so they can do a significant effort responding to the threats to our country,” Alalasundaram said.
Alalasundaram also provided an update on CBP’s migration of services to the cloud, which became a key focus in 2017. CBP aimed to achieve full cloud integration by 2025, depending on funding, but Alalasundaram said 85 percent of the agency’s applications are in the cloud so far.
“That alone is a significant achievement,” Alalasundaram said. “What it’s allowed us to do is take advantage of the elasticity and scalability the cloud providers offer.”
As CBP shifted to cloud operations, Alalasundaram said, “It’s about making our applications more resilient, more secure, and more scalable. “
Practically, he said this looks like moving away from legacy data storage systems, breaking apart “monolithic” applications, and moving to more open-source formats.
“I believe that this directly translates to better mission performance, allowing CBP to more effectively protect our borders and facilitate trade and travel,” Alalasundaram said.
Alalasundaram believes AI and large language models will continue to revolutionize the work done at CBP and lead to more efficient travel processes. He said AI can assist in identifying drug trafficking and human trafficking, as well as expediting traffic in travel operations.
“The possibilities are endless when it comes to how we can leverage AI and other emerging tech to help meet our 24/7/365 day CBP mission,” Alalasundaram said.
Seth Abrams, chief technology officer at Leidos, agreed with Alalasundaram but also said he wants to significantly invest in fraud detection technology – especially as identity verification becomes easier to manipulate through AI technology.
“We want to be able to take a look at the attack surface and really come up with these immutable concepts” to identify fraud in security processes, Abrams said.
With fraud in mind, Alalsundaram recommends implementing strong data governance policies throughout the modernization process and keeping humans in the loop as AI architecture advances. He said training officers and agents is critical to this implementation.
“Automation should not replace human judgement; it should augment it. The goal here is to empower our personnel with better tools and insights, enabling them to make informed decisions faster,” he said.
“It’s about moving from a reactive posture to a more proactive posture, and that has a significant impact on our ability to keep our borders safe and secure by giving our officers and agents the tools they need so they can focus on what they do best, which is catching bad things and bad people from coming into our country,” Alalasundaram added.
For even more insights, watch the entire webinar on demand.