Enhancements to Technical Controls Can Improve the Security of CBP's Analytical Framework for Intelligence

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) developed the Analytical Framework for Intelligence (AFI)—an index of relevant data in existing systems—to augment Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) ability to gather and develop information about persons, events, and cargo of interest. We performed this audit to determine the status of AFI implementation and whether effective controls have been applied to protect the sensitive information processed and stored by the system. CBP has made significant progress in implementing AFI. CBP fully deployed AFI on schedule and within budget, and has taken measures to secure the sensitive information the system processes and stores from unauthorized access. In addition, CBP developed a privacy impact assessment to ensure that privacy considerations for operating AFI were addressed throughout system deployment. Since deployment, system users have provided positive feedback to the component about AFI’s functionality and usefulness. Despite these positive steps, we identified deficiencies that the component must address to further secure the system.