NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- To arm warfighters with the ability to rapidly detect and neutralize insider threats, Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has teamed with the U.S. Military Academy at West Point for a study about insider threats on war front lines.

Cadets from West Point's department of electrical engineering and computer science are conducting a study to determine how insiders typically attack within a forward operating base on war front lines. They will then make recommendations on how to detect and deter these threats. The project provides cadets with opportunities to apply theory and newfound knowledge to real-world military challenges that they may soon face.

West Point cadets will present their findings to date at the Information Assurance Symposium being held this week, March 8-10, in Nashville. The symposium is an annual forum, hosted jointly by the National Security Agency, Defense Information Systems Agency and the U.S. Strategic Command. The cadets will deliver the final report in July.

Insider threat risks may pose life-threatening consequences and are some of the hardest to identify for soldiers in forward operating bases. Because the operational tempo is fast and ever-changing, soldiers have very little time to address the problems posed by potential insider threats.

To identify and characterize behaviors of malicious insiders, the cadets, led by academy professor Lt. Col. Greg Conti, have deployed the Raytheon SureView™ information protection solution on a U.S. Military Academy network within a simulated forward operating base environment. A second group of cadets, acting as malicious insiders, tries to evade the SureView system. Raytheon is supporting the effort by providing licenses, installation and training at no cost to the academy. In addition to the simulated environment, a survey of U.S. Army personnel with recent combat experience is being conducted to identify insider threat attributes.

"There is a good chance these cadets will be on the front lines, and there won't be time to continually scrutinize everyone with access to operational plans to ensure they have no malicious intent," said Jeanne Robinson, chief architect of Raytheon Information Security Solutions. "This study will help fine-tune SureView to detect insider threats specific to a forward operating base. SureView will be their eyes and ears, their 24/7 watch to combat the insider threat -- literally saving lives."

"Raytheon has more than 80 years of experience developing defense technologies and transferring these technologies to the U.S. military," said Steve Hawkins, vice president of Raytheon's Information Security Solutions product line. "Raytheon SureView has been the leader in combating the insider threat for more than a decade. Our ultimate goal in supporting this study is to provide the warfighter with improved warfighting capabilities and technology to combat the insider threat."

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), with 2010 sales of $25 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 89 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 72,000 people worldwide.

www.raytheon.com

SOURCE Raytheon Company