DULLES, Va., Oct. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Awareness of cyber attacks in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election helped grow the number of young adults more likely to pursue a career in cybersecurity, according to Securing Our Future: Closing the Cybersecurity Talent Gap, a new survey commissioned by Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) and the National Cyber Security Alliance.

The survey found that:

• In the U.S., the number of young adults who say they have read or heard a news account of cyber attacks within the last year nearly doubled from 36 percent in 2015 to 64 percent in 2016
• In the U.S., 53 percent of young adults say a political candidate's position on cybersecurity impacts their level of support for that candidate, including 60 percent of men and 47 of women
• In the U.S., 50 percent of young adults don't think cybersecurity has been a big enough part of the discussion leading up to the presidential election
• Globally, 59 percent of men, up from 43 percent in 2015, reported receiving formal cyber safety lessons, compared to 51 percent of women, an increase from 40 percent a year ago
• Globally, 54 percent of young men, up from 46 percent in 2015, said they were aware of the job tasks involved in the cybersecurity profession, compared to just 36 percent of young women, an increase from 33 percent last year
• Globally, 37 percent of young adults (34 percent in the U.S.) are more likely than a year ago to consider a career to make the Internet safer, compared to 28 percent in 2015 (26 percent in the U.S.)

"Millennials see hacktivists breaking into computer systems and threatening our economy," said Dave Wajsgras, president of Raytheon's Intelligence, Information and Services business. "If we can show young men and women a clear path to careers in cybersecurity, we can make real progress in eliminating the serious cyber talent shortage and making our country more secure."

Raytheon and NCSA released the latest results from its annual cyber study during the 13th annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and NCSA each October. Zogby Analytics conducted the survey of 3,800 young adults aged 18-26 across four global regions. The goal was to identify the root causes of the cyber talent gap as part of a shared long-term commitment to building a robust talent pipeline.

"When it comes to guidance for pursuing cybersecurity careers, young adults say parents are the most influential figure in shaping their career choices, but most millennials don't believe their parents are prepared to help them pursue a career in cybersecurity," said Michael Kaiser, executive director of the National Cyber Security Alliance. "As parents, leaders and educators we need to better communicate the opportunities in the cybersecurity field and help guide students to them."

For more detail and analysis of the survey findings, please visit www.RaytheonCyber.com/TalentGap to view reports and infographics.

Methodology 
Securing Our Future: Closing the Cybersecurity Talent Gap was fielded by Zogby Analytics from Aug. 11, 2016 to Aug. 26, 2016. The responses were generated from a survey of 3,779 adults in Australia, Estonia, France, Germany, Japan, Poland, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, UK, United Arab Emirates, and the U.S., ages 18 to 26. The margin of error for the survey was plus or minus 1.6 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. The 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 surveys sampled different individuals.

About The National Cyber Security Alliance
The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) is the nation's leading nonprofit public-private partnership promoting the safe and secure use of the Internet and digital privacy. Working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), private sector sponsors and nonprofit collaborators to promote cybersecurity awareness, NCSA board members include representatives from ADP, AT&T, Bank of America, BlackBerry, Comcast Corporation, ESET, Facebook, Google, Intel, Logical Operations, Microsoft, PayPal, PKWARE, RSA - the Security Division of EMC, Raytheon, Symantec, Verizon and Visa. Through collaboration with the government, corporate, nonprofit and academic sectors, NCSA's mission is to educate and empower digital citizens to use the Internet securely and safely, protect themselves and the technology they use, and safeguard the digital assets we all share. NCSA leads initiatives for STOP.THINK.CONNECT., a global cybersecurity awareness campaign to help all digital citizens stay safer and more secure online; Data Privacy Day, celebrated annually on January 28 and National Cyber Security Awareness Month, launched every October. For more information on NCSA, please visit staysafeonline.org/about-us/overview/.

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, C5I™ products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Follow us on Twitter @Raytheon.

E16-PKJ4 This document does not contain technology or Technical Data controlled under either the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations or the U.S. Export Administration Regulations.

www.raytheon.com

Media Contacts
Raytheon
Ellen Klicka
571.250.1029
iispr@raytheon.com

National Cyber Security Alliance
Tola St. Matthew-Daniel
917.818.6196
ncsa@thatcherandco.com

SOURCE Raytheon Company