CBP seeks analytics tech to aid digital forensics
Gettyimages.com / Mr. Cole Photographer
By
Ross Wilkers
The Customs and Border Protection agency wants to better identify patterns and connections that help create leads in investigations.
The Customs and Border Protection agency is looking to upgrade its digital forensics capabilities by incorporating more data analytics techniques into that aspect of its investigative work.
A sources sought notice posted Friday describes CBP’s interest in acquiring services and software for performing analysis work on data the agency extracts from various electronic sources, including text, contacts, still imagery and video.
The agency estimates it processed more than 420 million travelers and carried out searches on more than 4,000 electronic devices in federal fiscal year 2024, both of which the agency expects to increase.
CBP wants the solution to have the ability to ingest multiple file types, identify patterns and connections that help create leads in investigations and assist in border enforcement activities.
The agency cites finding a “red tricycle” in different videos acquired from different data sets as one example of how the analytics solution would look at the forensically-acquired electronic data.
Encrypted chat messaging systems are a second potential use case CBP outlines in the request for information. CBP says it will need new tools and techniques to access encrypted data on devices, which is a particular challenge when encountering them at and between ports of entry.
Given the size and specs of CBP’s mission, the agency is interested in applying artificial intelligence techniques to help users find patterns in large datasets as part of their efforts to generate insights.
The RFI also emphasizes CBP’s desire for “low risk system solutions that are already in production and operational that would only require configuration changes without changes to software code.”
Any software code changes must be minimal because CBP believes “there is insufficient time” for both that and “extensive system development.”
CBP is asking respondents for information on whether their product or solution is being used by a law enforcement agency for investigative purposes, as well as any other customers that work with the technology and the size of those organizations.
Respondents are also being asked to detail how they carried out any configuration changes, costs associated with the product — including those related to software licenses — and their approaches to customization.
The deadline for RFI responses is July 10.