One of the country’s most notable weapons manufacturers announced a new play into the cybersecurity market this week as it seeks to bring the same technology it makes for the military into commercial markets.  Under a multi-faceted deal, Raytheon and investment firm Vista Equity Partners will together form a new joint venture that will offer cyber products and services to commercial companies in a push to help businesses combat security threats.
Raytheon will pay $1.9 billion to acquire the Vista-owned company Websense, then integrate the firm with Raytheon’s cyber products division to form the JV, which Raytheon will hold an 80-percent stake in and Vista will own the other 20 percent.
In a subsequent call with investors, Raytheon and Vista executives said they want the future venture to address demand in the commercial sector for “defense-grade” cyber products and build on Websense’s presence in 155 countries.
“Commercial companies are evolving their infrastructure with cloud computing, mobility and the internet of things to stay competitive and, as a result, they have become more vulnerable than ever,” said David Wajsgras, president of Raytheon’s intelligence business segment.
The evolution of how cyber attackers work and an increase in both the number and types of threats has led many agencies to reimagine how they protect their computer networks, Nick Urick of FireEye told ExecutiveBiz earlier this year.
Urick, head of FireEye’s federal business, highlighted the company’s “adaptive defense” approach that seeks to blend technology with cyber intelligence and push to facilitate information exchanges between the private sector and government.
“If the government starts moving toward a shared model, it not only gives a lot more insight to detect and prevent but it also gives a lot of situational awareness,” Urick said.
“Today this is lost because the government doesn’t share attack information.”
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 The current state of cloud computing in the federal government and what could be in store going forward will be the item of discussion at the Potomac Officers Club’s “FedRAMP Forum” May 14 in Falls Church, Va.
Matt Goodrich, who leads the FedRAMP program for the General Services Administration, will address the breakfast event for GovCon and government executives, as will Claudio Belloli, FedRAMP’s cyber program manager.
We are also excited to announce that Katie Lewin, one of FedRAMP’s architects in her former role as cloud computing director at GSA, will offer her insight and perspective to the audience.
Click here to register for the FedRAMP Forum and to view the POC event calendar.
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“Commercial companies are evolving their infrastructure with cloud computing, mobility and the internet of things to stay competitive and, as a result, they have become more vulnerable than ever,” said David Wajsgras, president of Raytheon’s intelligence business segment.
Urick, head of FireEye’s federal business, highlighted the company’s “adaptive defense” approach that seeks to blend technology with cyber intelligence and push to facilitate information exchanges between the private sector and government.
Matt Goodrich, who leads the FedRAMP program for the General Services Administration, will address the breakfast event for GovCon and government executives, as will Claudio Belloli, FedRAMP’s cyber program manager.
We are also excited to announce that Katie Lewin, one of FedRAMP’s architects in her former role as cloud computing director at GSA, will offer her insight and perspective to the audience.
