Raytheon Technologies on the Importance of Diversity to Defeat Hackers

Raytheon Technologies ranked No. 41 on The Fair360, formerly DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list in 2022.

 

Raytheon Intelligence & Space, a Raytheon Technologies business, supports the U.S. government in its defense against cyberattacks on its infrastructure. Diversity of thought, backgrounds and experiences helps the team combat hackers.

When reverse-engineering a cyberattack, diversity gives a needed edge against hackers.

“You need individuals with unique backgrounds, exposures and experiences to recognize different patterns than others,” said Clinton Thomas, principal researcher for RI&S’ Cyber Offense and Defense Experts.

Bringing different perspectives together can help a team work towards a solution that might not have been found otherwise.

“If everybody thinks the same, you can get consensus very quickly … but that may not be the best answer. It just means everybody agreed,” said Jocelyn Williams, Diversity and Inclusion Lead at Raytheon Intelligence and Space. “When you get a set of people together who have different backgrounds and experiences, they start asking, ‘Have we thought about this? Did we think about that?’ That’s when you’ll find your most innovative solution.”

To help diversify its talent, Raytheon starts at the foundation: schools. Groups and initiatives like Connect Up, Girls Who Code, FIRST Robotics, and NAF help attract, retain and develop a diverse talent pool for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professions.

Raytheon also partners with Advancing Minorities’ Interest in Engineering (AMIE), which helps underrepresented students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) pursue a career in STEM.

“We have advisers who are going into these HBCUs and mentoring students, letting them know how they can be competitive cyber candidates at Raytheon Technologies and in aerospace and defense,” Williams said. “Creating and cultivating relationships with these HBCU engineering schools benefits our company by helping to fill the cyber talent gap.”

By nurturing a diverse workforce and utilizing different perspectives, hackers can be defeated.

Read more at raytheonintelligenceandspace.com.

Related

Trending Now

Follow us

Most Popular

Join Our Newsletter

Get the top workplace fairness news delivered straight to your inbox