The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently suspended all background investigations on current and prospective Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees due to security concerns over Personally Identifiable Information (PII). The information is revealed in newly released documents justifying recently awarded government contracts: At least five sole-source, no-bid contracts of “unusual and compelling urgency” totaling almost a half million dollars were awarded to various information technology vendors at the end of September.

Although the justification documents for the contracts state that the awards were “not the result of a lack of planning,” the contracts’ sole-source, no-bid nature was justified because “[t]ime and urgency did not allow for soliciting multiple sources.” CBP halted all background investigations until security upgrades are completed: