MIT, Raytheon and others partner to combat cyber threats

Bill Kiczuk, Raytheon's vice president and chief technology officer.

Mar 16, 2015

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MIT and companies including Waltham-based defense contractor Raytheon have teamed up to launch a cybersecurity initiative aimed at combating cyber threats on a broad scale.

The initiative involves five companies: Raytheon, Boeing, BP, BAE Systems, BBVA and various MIT divisions such as the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Sloan School of Management, all of which are committed to "tackling the complex challenges involved in keeping our digital information safe," according to the university.

Bill Kiczuk, Raytheon's vice president and chief technology officer, said the initiative, which MIT officially unveiled last week, is timely and prudent.

"Technology is part of the fabric of our lives and (as) computing and software are more and more pervasive, so are the risks and potential impacts of cyber attacks," he said in an email. "This trend will not reverse anytime soon and protecting these systems we depend on for our security, health and way of life is incredibly important."

The partnership with MIT will provide companies like Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) access to the next generation of cyber engineers and experts, Kiczuk said.

The consortium of businesses and various MIT departments will be focused on preventing, working through and recovering from Web-based attacks, said Howard Shrobe, principal research scientist at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

Representatives from the companies will meet with researchers throughout the year to discuss issues and suggest new areas of research in the realm of cybersecurity, he said.

The cybersecurity initiative is funded with an undisclosed amount of money by the five member companies.

Shrobe said more companies will participate in the initiative in the coming years.

"We hope that these initiatives will help us work together with industry to create better systems to eliminate a lot of the current vulnerabilities that plague the digital landscape," he said in an email.