The three-year contract, worth £38m, will enable Border Force and related agencies to manage, in real time, the vast amounts of data relating to the 300 million passenger journeys and 385 million tonnes of freight that enter the UK every year.
The amount of information held across the Home Office, wider government and industry is increasing rapidly, and understanding these large datasets quickly is critical for identifying risks to national security.
Through the development of advanced risk analytics services with the Home Office, also known as 'Cerberus', BAE Systems Digital Intelligence is aiming to enable the Border Force and related agencies to streamline and augment the process of real-time threat detection and intervention.
The capabilities should also enable the government to securely connect and analyse data over a longer period to gain a better understanding of the bigger picture and macro trends, helping to inform longer- term strategy. This could bolster the government's vision of creating efficient and secure experiences for visitors and traders crossing the border.
The partnership aims to provide those working at the border - and beyond - with clear, actionable and secure intelligence to allow them to make informed and timely decisions about potential risks and identify potential criminal activity.
Image credit: BAE Systems
Dave Armstrong, group managing director of BAE Systems' Digital Intelligence, said: "Our partnership with the Home Office will provide Border Force officers with accurate information upfront, speeding up processes and allowing them to focus on making critical decisions. This contract builds on work we've been doing with the Home Office for a number of years, which has enabled the Border Force to identify interventions and prevent illegal materials from entering the UK."
Dominic Gallard, director of Home Office Intelligence, said: "Technology sits at the heart of operations at the UK border. Our partnership with BAE Systems enables a more data-driven approach and provides our teams with high-quality information to support operational decisions. This helps us keep the UK safe by identifying high-threat movements of goods and people and interdicting them. It also speeds the progress of low-threat goods and people, thus unlocking efficiencies for Border Force and enabling UK prosperity and flow."
Digital Intelligence is home to approximately 4,500 digital, cyber and intelligence experts, working collaboratively across 16 countries to collect, connect and understand complex data, assisting governments, nation states, armed forces and commercial businesses in defending themselves from increasingly sophisticated and advanced threats.
To ID, or not to ID? How to solve the UK's digital identity dilemma
If the government is going to encourage public uptake of digital ID, it will have to provide people with better and more secure experiences of the technology.