Carl Manion, Director of Cyber Threat Hunting, Detection and Response at Raytheon, delivered a lecture to more than 27 students from Khalifa University of Science and Technology’s Department of Computer Engineering recently.

The guest lecture was part of a series of activities under Raytheon’s ‘Cyber Academy’, which debuted globally in the UAE in 2016.

“When it comes to cybersecurity, skilled individuals are your greatest asset, and developing local cyber capacity is key for effective and long term cyber defense”, said Manion.

“Technology alone is not enough to defend against the highly advanced, well-resourced groups and individuals behind many of today’s cyber threats. It takes talented cyber threat analysts, security engineers and malware researchers who can think like your organization's adversaries, understand the tools, techniques and practices they use and develop the necessary counter measures,” he added.

The thought leadership engagement is part of Raytheon’s ongoing commitment to developing cyber capacity and an effective talent pipeline in Emirati youth, in efforts to contribute to the country’s continually growing knowledge-based economy and STEM platform. It also coincides with Raytheon’s 30th anniversary of partnership with the UAE, which was marked this year.

Raytheon Company, with 2016 sales of $24 billion and 63,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions.

With a history of innovation spanning 95 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, USA.

Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research is an independent, non-profit, coeducational institution inaugurated in 2007 as part of an Abu Dhabi government initiative.

The university is dedicated to the advancement of learning through teaching and research and the discovery and application of knowledge. It endeavors to be an internationally recognized research university, with a world class reputation for interdisciplinary teaching and research and a tradition of partnering with leading international academic institutions.