Raytheon Company

Response to Commission on Enhancing National 

Cybersecurity Request for Information

Original research about the cybersecurity workforce shortfall 

As stories in the news of digital attacks against individuals and companies are becoming a 

common reality, the high demand globally for cybersecurity professionals keeps growing as the 

threat increases. A record 79 percent of U.S. businesses reported a cybersecurity incident in the 

last year, and the 238,158 job postings for cybersecurity-related jobs in 2014 is an increase of 

91 percent from 2010. In the United States alone, companies posted 49,493 jobs requiring 

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification last year; however, 

there are only 65,362 CISSP holders, the majority of whom are already employed. This talent 

gap has serious implications for domestic and international economics and security and must be 

addressed.

To shed some new light on how we should tackle this worldwide issue, Raytheon and the 

National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) commissioned Securing Our Future: Closing the Cyber 

Talent Gap, a survey to understand the career interests and educational preparedness of 

millennials (ages 18 to 26) in 12 countries around the world. 2016 will mark the fourth 

consecutive year Raytheon and NCSA have commissioned the survey. This study was fielded 

by Zogby Analytics, which also conducted all previous surveys.

It is imperative for the national security of our country and its allies that the workforce pipeline 

for cybersecurity professionals be filled with sufficient qualified workers. This survey is intended 

to give insights into the root causes of the global cybersecurity talent gap.

Results from the 2015 survey indicate that millennials aren’t aware of cybersecurity job 

opportunities, but they are or could become interested. The survey has shown that millennials 

would likely pursue a cybersecurity career if they were aware of what the job entails. 

Young adults say they want careers that use skills required for cyber careers, but they do not 

have the skills needed to pursue such jobs. Schools are also not preparing young adults for 

these jobs—and there is a gap within the gap—with females less interested and informed about 

careers in cybersecurity than their male counterparts. In the United States, fewer women are 

looking at a career in security, as the 2015 gap between young women's interest in the field 

versus that of men was five times less than a year before. Nearly half of millennials surveyed 

say cybersecurity programs such as competitions, internships, and scholarships are not 

available to them. 

Recommendations

With this knowledge and survey results, we can chart a course forward, which requires active 

collaboration between business sectors, the government, and our entire education system. A 

path forward could include awareness, education, and mentoring collaboration. This 

multifaceted approach is required if millennials and future generations are to become the sharp, 
aware, and talented cyber defenders our societies need. Specific recommendations for reducing 

the current cybersecurity talent gap include:

 Implement new awareness campaigns in partnership with non-profits, industry, 

entertainment, and government, aimed at millennials with respect to the need, 

desirability, and availability of cybersecurity jobs.

 Establish industry consensus around core messaging with respect to cybersecurity jobs, 

so common taxonomy can help drive awareness and understanding.

 Create information-sharing mechanisms across nonprofits, industry, and government to 

rapidly transform emergent threats into industry awareness and actions.

 Require basic cybersecurity education for all levels of public schools, and encourage 

private schools to participate.

 Provide business incentives for industry to deepen investments in STEM education and 

awareness efforts, especially for girls and minorities.

o Provide incentives for increased cybersecurity scholarship investment by 

industry.

o Partner with non-profits and industry to create new cybersecurity competitions, 

and provide official recognition for participation.

About Raytheon

Raytheon Company, with 2015 sales of $23 billion and 61,000 employees, is a technology and 

innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government, and cybersecurity solutions. With a 

history of innovation spanning 94 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission 

systems integration, C5ITM products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for 

customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass. Visit us at 

www.raytheon.com and follow us on Twitter @Raytheon.

Developing the Next-Generation Cyber Workforce

In the United States, the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC), presented 

by Raytheon, provides college students the opportunity test their skills at protecting a network 

against cyber threats. Raytheon also provides technical resources and employee volunteers to 

the event. The tournament-style competition sees student-only teams from 180 U.S. colleges 

and universities each year.

Our annual global research study, Securing the Future: Closing the Cyber Talent Gap, centers 

on the potential of the Millennial generation to choose cybersecurity careers and fill the gap.

The Raytheon Women’s Cybersecurity Scholarship, administered by the Center for Cyber 

Safety and Education, provides tuition assistance and paid internships to encourage women to 

pursue cybersecurity degrees.

Raytheon’s Cyber Academy, a global cyber education program, reflects our commitment to 

develop the next generation of cyber talent worldwide. The academy launched in 2016 in the 

United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a vision for expansion to additional countries.

And while the United States faces a shortage of cyber defenders, the need for talent is even 

greater in other countries. To help bridge this worldwide gap, Raytheon launched a global cyber 

education program with two key events in the UAE.
 UAE Security Forum: “Bridging the Cybersecurity Talent Gap”–a one-day event focusing 

on development of cyber talent. The forum brought together government, academic and 

cybersecurity industry leaders to identify actions needed to develop cyber talent. 

Raytheon partnered with the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington to present the 

UAE Security Forum.

 A four-day cyber educational workshop at Khalifa University that taught students new 

cybersecurity skills. A four-day cyber skills workshop, taught by two experts from the 

Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security at the University of Texas-San Antonio 

in the United States, was held for 55 Khalifa students. It taught students how to secure 

Windows server and operating systems.

Raytheon also sponsors the Cyber Security Challenge UK, an event series that tests amateur 

applicants with cyber skills.

The company has several executives currently serving on the advisory boards of different 

colleges and universities, and runs internship programs that brings college students into the 

business to learn firsthand. Other Raytheon initiatives include MathMovesU®, an everexpanding family of unique initiatives and key partnerships that connects with students from 

elementary school through college to address the STEM education crisis; the Raytheon 

MATHCOUNTS National Competition; and Teachers in Industry, a program through the 

University of Arizona that gives teachers summer internships so they can bring knowledge back 

into the classroom.

STEM Education

Engaging students with MathMovesU

Mentoring and inspiring students to pursue STEM careers is the central mission of our 

MathMovesU® program. We believe it is our responsibility to help students from all 

backgrounds gain opportunities for robust education in math and science. Through 

MathMovesU initiatives, we engage with students from elementary school through college, 

support educators and policymakers, and promote racial and gender equality within STEM 

fields.

Focusing on STEM career paths for girls

At Raytheon, we believe that the best ideas come from diverse teams of people from different 

backgrounds and perspectives. That's why we are sharpening our focus on STEM career paths 

for girls to help build and prepare the next generation.

Each year, we organize Girl Day events nationwide as part of DiscoverE's® National Engineers 

Week. We are helped by Raytheon employee volunteers who believe inspiring girls to pursue 

STEM will have a long-term impact on individual and collective success. We are pleased to 

have won the Women in Engineering Proactive Network’s DiscoverE award for our Girl Day 

efforts.

Bring math to life

Our traveling museum exhibition, MathAlive!, is designed to inspire, spark the imagination, and

reveal not only math at work, but the endless possibilities of math. Since the launch in 2012, the 

exhibition brings to life the real math behind what kids love most—video games, sports, fashion, 

music, robotics, and more—and creates interactive and immersive experiences that bring to life 

the math at work in each, whether in design, application, or use. MathAlive! is touring military 

communities the United States as well as countries in the Middle East.
MATHCOUNTS®

Every year, nearly 6,000 schools and more than 17,000 volunteers participate in 

MATHCOUNTS, a national competition program that promotes mathematical achievement with 

middle school students across the United States. The program culminates in the Raytheon 

MATHCOUNTS National Competition, which brings together 224 middle school mathletes from 

all 50 states, D.C., U.S. territories and schools from the Departments of Defense and State. In 

addition to serving as the title sponsor of the MATHCOUNTS National Competition (through 

2018), we are a supportive partner of the MATHCOUNTS Foundation, a nonprofit organization 

that helps U.S. middle-school students excel in math. We provide financial contributions to help 

middle school students become creative problem solvers and develop the skills needed to 

become the math and science leaders of the future.

Measuring STEM Success

We have partnered with U.S. News & World Report® in developing the first-ever index to track 

eight key indicators of STEM activity in the United States. The index shows that high school 

student aptitude for and interest in STEM professions have not kept pace with demand. 

Moreover, gender and ethnic gaps remain wide among students interested in STEM.