Kristen Smith 
- Canevari served as TSA deputy administrator before joining GDIT
- Homeland defense requires securing public safety, critical infrastructure and government operations
- GDIT has secured contracts for border towers and biometrics
Modern threat actors targeting the United States no longer differentiate between public safety, critical infrastructure and government operations, creating an urgent need for multi-agency and public-private security coordination, according to General Dynamics Information Technology executive Holly Canevari.
In a post published Friday on the GDIT website, Canevari, vice president and general manager for homeland security, emphasized that adversaries — from state-sponsored cyber actors to lone-wolf attackers — focus on maximum systemic impact rather than operating within defined security categories.
Canevari served as the Transportation Security Administration’s deputy administrator and spent nearly seven years at the Department of Homeland Security, including a term as chief of staff in its policy office.
She wrote that no single entity can handle homeland security alone and that responses need to work across agencies, industry and the private sector.
Join key decision-makers at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Homeland Security Summit on Nov. 10. Featuring keynotes from DHS Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar, U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran and top agency executives, the event offers direct insight into the department’s high-priority AI, cyber defense and border tech initiatives. Register now to reserve your spot!
How Does Canevari Frame the Homeland Security Mission?
Canevari highlighted three primary operational categories within homeland security:
- Safety, Preparedness and Response: Managing large-scale operations, from natural disaster recovery to major public events such as the upcoming World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics, requires real-time intelligence fusion. DHS Fusion Centers play a central role by linking local, state and federal law enforcement via advanced analytics and monitoring tools, the GDIT executive said.
- Critical Infrastructure Protection: Securing high-value assets demands cross-jurisdictional collaboration. Canevari cited the TSA’s oversight of pipeline security alongside the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Department of Energy, and the FBI as a prime example of necessary operational integration.
- Safeguarding the American Way of Life: Ensuring social and economic stability relies on coordinated disaster recovery and multi-departmental cooperation on essential government functions, such as naturalization processes across DHS, the State Department and the Department of Justice.
Canevari concluded that while DHS leads national homeland protection efforts, effective resilience requires systems integrators, critical infrastructure operators and local partners to break down operational silos and align directly to the mission.
What Homeland Security Work Does GDIT Hold?
GDIT has been supporting homeland security through various contracts. In June, Customs and Border Protection awarded GDIT a $71 million task order with a potential value of $115 million under the $1.8 billion Consolidated Tower & Surveillance Equipment contract to deploy Relocatable Autonomous Surveillance Towers along the southwest border. The towers integrate edge AI, machine learning, patented video analytics, and advanced 5G and satellite communications to automate long-range threat detection.
The company also supports DHS identity verification programs. In November 2025, GDIT secured a $36 million sole-source task order under the General Services Administration’s Alliant 2 vehicle to provide mission systems lifecycle support for the Office of Biometric Identity Management, enabling identity verification and data-sharing capabilities across interagency partners.
These recent awards expand on GDIT’s broader DHS portfolio, which includes a $712 million task order won in 2023 to continue modernizing IT infrastructure at the St. Elizabeths campus in Washington, covering cybersecurity, operations and maintenance, and logistics support. GDIT also holds a potential five-year, $99 million contract from Customs and Border Protection for communications, training, stakeholder engagement and deployment support serving the agency’s trade office.
