USCIS Taps Andrew Vanjani as New CIO Apr 23, 2026 | 12:23 pm Andrew Vanjani is taking over as the new chief information officer (CIO) at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which administers the nation’s lawful immigration system as a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). […]
DHS Expands Immigration Database to Include US Citizens, Voter Data Nov 5, 2025 | 2:19 pm The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has formalized changes to its federal immigration database, expanding its purpose to include voter registration and verification for both noncitizens and U.S. citizens. […]
GAO Finds Agencies Not Consistently Evaluating Impact of Telework Nov 25, 2024 | 10:35 am Federal agencies are not consistently evaluating the impact of telework on their ability to provide services, said the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in a new report issued on Nov. 22. […]
Cyber Defender Q&A: Megan Kane of USCIS Talks Supply Chain, AI Challenges Aug 19, 2024 | 9:24 am Shortly after her induction into the 2024 class of Cyber Defenders, we were delighted to grab 20 minutes with Megan Kane, Risk Management Branch Chief at the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services component, for a talk about the critical importance of risk management along with the hot-button challenges of supply chain risk management, the advent of AI in security, continuous monitoring, governance improvements, and zero trust implementation. […]
Tech ‘Observability’ Growing by ‘Leaps and Bounds,’ DHS Official Says Dec 13, 2023 | 3:55 pm The importance of technology “observability” has been growing by “leaps and bounds” as Federal agencies continue their journeys to the cloud and strive to meet government mandates, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official said on Dec. 12. […]
Fed CDOs: AI, Automation Enabling Data Readiness Sep 27, 2023 | 1:36 pm Because data is one of the Federal government’s most valuable assets and a major driver for critical decision-making across numerous Federal agencies, several agency chief data officers (CDOs) said this week they have turned to artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to power the goals of data analysis and readiness. […]
DHS Data Official Pushes Back on AI Doom Scenarios May 11, 2023 | 9:19 am A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) component agency official pushed back this week against what he called the recent wave of negative attention being paid to artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, arguing instead that responsible use of the technology is proving to be a boon for his agency. […]
Data Access, Sharing Vital to AI Success, Federal Officials Say Apr 6, 2023 | 2:00 pm More freedom to share data is vital to the success of developing AI technologies that meet the needs of Federal agencies, government officials said today. […]
DHS Advisory Board Urges CX Improvements Dec 23, 2022 | 9:00 am A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) advisory board has urged the agency to leverage technology to improve customer experience (CX) – from updating security checkpoint tech at airports to publicly posting wait times for immigration applications. On Dec. 6, DHS’ Customer Experience and Service Delivery Subcommittee delivered a final report to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas highlighting […]
Feds: Buckle up for Bumpy Ride on Zero Trust Nov 10, 2022 | 12:53 pm Federal cybersecurity experts explained at a Nov. 8 ATARC event that the road to zero trust security is a long and often bumpy journey that their agencies at still learning to navigate, despite some being in the game for several years now. […]
Cyber Central: Automation, Cloud Key to Secure Data Oct 28, 2022 | 2:36 pm The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) saved $26 million last year by automating their alert and response to threats against the agency’s data that is secured in the cloud, according to the USCIS chief information security officer (CISO). […]
Brillient Wins $310M Contract From USCIS Jun 10, 2022 | 3:18 pm Brillient Corp. announced this week that it won a $310.6 million contract to support the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) National Benefits Center (NBC). […]
Feds Share Best Practices and Lessons Learned in RPA Oct 27, 2021 | 1:41 pm Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has gone in just a few short years from a few scattered pilot projects to an essential tool deployed by dozens of agencies. In the process, Federal agency IT leaders have found that automation at scale comes with challenges, and they shared some of their best practices for and lessons learned for integrating RPA into existing systems at an FCW virtual workshop on October 26. […]
USCIS CTO Talks Data Quality and Modernization Apr 15, 2021 | 3:47 pm Rob Brown, chief technology officer (CTO) at the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), today discussed the importance of data quality checks as well as what steps USCIS is taking to accelerate its digital modernization. […]
Senators Concerned Over DHS Expanding Biometric Data Collection Oct 20, 2020 | 10:46 am A group of five senators has sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) urging the agency not to follow through with a plan to expand its collection of biometric information. […]
USCIS Cyber Chief Credits Automation for SOC Improvements Sep 2, 2020 | 9:22 am Shane Barney, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) component, on Sept. 1 credited increased use of data automation for improving security operation center (SOC) operations at the agency. […]
DHS Says Reopening Moves Track White House Guidelines Jun 16, 2020 | 10:31 am The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it is working to re-open agency offices in accordance with Phase 1 of the White House’s Opening Up America Again plan, although office re-opening schedules are expected to vary based on a number of factors. […]
USCIS Provides Updates on Paperless Transition Nov 14, 2019 | 8:30 am As the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) continues working toward a paperless future, the agency has already completed online filing systems for several documents and, and is touting successes with its online account system. […]
Federal CDOs Looking Forward to Council, Other Data Strategy Features Sep 26, 2019 | 9:35 am With the upcoming release of the Federal Data Strategy’s final action plan on the horizon, Federal chief data officers (CDOs) agreed on Sept. 25 that the strategy holds plenty of promising features to advance their work, including an official CDO council that will help them share ideas and experiences. […]
DHS Components Are Powering the Department’s Cloud Migration, Official Says Aug 14, 2019 | 1:20 pm The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is progressing with its cloud strategy, and the agency’s components are leading the way in cloud migration, DHS Cloud Action Officer Kshemendra Paul said at FCW’s Smart Cloud, Smart Government workshop today. […]
USAF Focusing on Cyber Hygiene in Risk Management Strategy Jul 18, 2019 | 11:58 am Risk management in the modern age is largely about cyber hygiene, said Wanda Jones-Heath, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the U.S. Air Force’s Office of the Deputy CIO, today. […]
USCIS CISO: Go Slow, Expect Failure Apr 13, 2018 | 3:52 pm It’s not often that anyone aspires to “go slow” to reach their goals, but for Shane Barney, Acting Chief Information Security Officer for the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, it’s part of the plan. […]
USCIS CIO Schwartz, Champion of DevOps, is Stepping Down Jun 12, 2017 | 9:44 am Mark Schwartz is stepping down from his post as chief information officer of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. […]
Look Who’s MeriTalking: Mark Schwartz, CIO USCIS Jun 20, 2016 | 1:54 pm MeriTalk caught up with Mark Schwartz, the chief information officer at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services within the Department of Homeland Security, during the 2016 Akamai Government Forum in Washington, D.C. […]