CBP stops background checks to wait for PII upgrades

Customs and Border Protection stopped background checks on its prospective and current employees while some of its IT vendors update their systems to accommodate the agency's data privacy policies.

According to an article in the Weekly Standard, the agency filed a number of justifications in late September to change blanket purchase agreements (BPAs) with several IT systems providers that deliver the services. CBP said the companies had to upgrade their systems to accommodate recent policy changes regarding access to personally identifiable information.

The vendors are KeyPoint Government Solutions in Loveland, Colo.; Omniplex World Services Corp. and CSC Systems and Solutions, both headquartered in Chantilly, Va.; MSM Security Services in Greenbelt, Md.; and ADC Ltd. in Albuquerque, N.M.

The justifications asked the companies to adjust their BPAs to implement security updates for background investigations at a cost of $70,000 to $100,000 each.

The upgrades are necessary because of a "requirement for increased security standards for background investigation contractors accessing personally identifiable information," according to the CBP paperwork.

CBP did not return calls by FCW asking if the agency's background investigations were still suspended.