Sanjeev “Sonny” Bhagowalia
Assistant Commissioner, Office of Information and Technology and Chief Information Officer, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security
Sonny Bhagowalia is humbled by the amount of effort exerted by the dedicated Office of Information and Technology (workforce, Chief Information Security Officer team, and the trusted partners that work with Customs and Border Protection and care so much about protecting the nation from adversaries).
In one of the most unprecedented national and global environments in CBP history, Bhagowalia’s immensely proud of the accomplishments and hard work of the workforce. CBP OIT invests in people, policy, technology, process and governance while aligning to six strategic focus areas: Infrastructure, applications, cybersecurity, operational/IT, trusted partnerships/governance, and chief information officer business operations.
Plus, continuous technology improvements and modernization empower CBP to stay ahead of its evolving mission and emerging threats to the nation. DHS’ Office of Inspector General recently published an FY 2023 DHS Federal Information Security Management Act report to Congress, and CBP Cybersecurity received an unprecedented five out of five in four of five areas, with a four out of five in the fifth area.
“My team oversaw an enterprise Mixed IT Portfolio of $2.4 billion in FY 2023 (including federal staff pay) and plays a vital role in protecting the American people, safeguarding our borders, and enhancing the nation’s economic prosperity,” Bhagowalia said.
As they implement the newly developed CBP IT Strategy 2023-2027, CBP has attained a level of IT maturity that presents an opportunity to progress capabilities and services in support of CBP’s 24/7 mission at an exponential rate.
“It continues to be my privilege to serve as the Assistant Commissioner of OIT and CBP CIO for the past four years and watch our top-notch OIT organization achieve year-over-year best results in all six strategic focus areas (including Cybersecurity), despite historical-level external challenges,” Bhagowalia said.
Why Watch
As part of network modernization efforts with a focus on cybersecurity, CBP is moving toward a Zero Trust Architecture model in its network infrastructure by deploying a Secure Access Service Edge remote internet access solution. CBP also established the AI Center of Innovation to develop and implement methodologies and common practices for utilizing AI in mission operations.
The Center of Innovation will also support data and technology selection along with AI/ML model development and management. To support mission operations, Bhagowalia and his team will continue to evaluate automation tools and software as use of AI and capabilities expand. CBP will be one of the first federal agencies to explore post-quantum cryptography to prevent future cybersecurity threats.
Fun fact: Bhagowalia is an audiophile and a music enthusiast. In his free time, he enjoys listening to different genres of music such as rock, blues, jazz and world music. “I believe music can be used to speak to one another in a profound way as it transcends boundaries and can speak the language of the human soul,” he said.