Driving Intelligence Innovation for Smarter Threat Identification at CBP

Customer Challenge

The Business Intelligence Support Services program supports thousands of border enforcement personnel in efficiently identifying risks associated with cargo, individuals, and conveyances entering the United States. Charged with conducting terrorism analysis, global threat assessments, and intelligence-driven special operations, the program faced challenges due to legacy, on-premises systems developed under a Waterfall methodology. These systems limited real-time analysis capabilities and slowed the ability to quickly adapt to emerging threats. Additionally, the increasing volume of transactions, processing tens of thousands daily, and the need to provide rapid, accurate intelligence required a comprehensive modernization of both technology and operational processes.

Navitas Solution

A comprehensive approach was taken to develop, modernize, and enhance critical intelligence systems through a multi-workstream Agile methodology. The modernization included building a Unified Data Analytics Platform leveraging cloud technologies such as Spark, Scala, Data Robot, and AWS S3, while optimizing existing Oracle databases for reporting and analytics. Multiple Agile teams managed ten separate workstreams, including data engineering, full stack development, artificial intelligence and machine learning, intelligence analysis, entity resolution, and threat research support. Agile Scrum and Kanban methodologies were employed to enable flexible prioritization of tasks, continuous integration, and delivery. Comprehensive lifecycle documentation covered requirements, design, implementation, release planning, and training. Automated tools, reusable templates, and SecDevOps practices were incorporated to reduce risk and improve release quality.

Results

The modernization effort enabled real-time processing of over 30,000 cargo transactions and more than 15,000 passenger transactions daily, with passenger targeting models responding in 5 milliseconds or less. The platform now supports more than 5,000 users with enhanced threat visualization and decision-making tools through advanced reporting systems like SAP Business Objects and Oracle Business Intelligence. Agile delivery yielded an average of 70-80 user story points per 3-week sprint with 65-75 user stories deployed to production every quarter, maintaining a rapid release cadence aligned with evolving operational needs. This transformation significantly improved the ability to identify emerging threats, streamline enforcement activities, and enhance national security by providing timely, actionable intelligence.

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