Charles Lyons-Burt
Accenture’s federal business has landed a $199 million contract from the Department of Homeland Security to continue to provide technical assistance and modernize a Transportation Security Administration flight screening technology it has been servicing since 2018.
During the contract’s potential 10-year life span, Accenture Federal Services is expected to conduct a variety of information technology tasks, including designing, prototyping and maintaining the TSA’s Secure Flight system, the Arlington, Virginia-based company said Tuesday.
“We’re proud of the many successes that have resulted from our partnership with the TSA and are excited to continue helping the agency optimize security on domestic and international commercial flights,” remarked Anthony Pinheiro, managing director and lead of the TSA effort at AFS.
Work under the Secure Flight Systems IT Services contract is expected to eventually yield a complete transition from the current, legacy passenger screening approach to a technology operating on open source architecture. The move will ideally strengthen security measures while balancing attention to passenger privacy standards.
Secure Flight functions by processing passenger names through traveler lists, government watchlists and intelligence briefings, effectively performing condensed background checks before flyers reach airport premises. The system will then categorize passengers as no-risk, low-risk or high-risk.
Maurine Fanguy, managing director and lead of all DHS business at AFS, reported that the AFS team will employ burgeoning technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to evolve the Secure Flight system.
The new DHS and TSA award follows AFS’ March win of a seven-year, $199 million contract also from the TSA and DHS. The prior contract tasks AFS with streamlining the department’s credential system from three programs into one, aiding the TSA’s information technology, technology solutions division.
