Raytheon’s Thomas Kennedy: Integrated Production Oversight Key to Addressing Emerging Security Threats

Thomas Kennedy, chairman and CEO at Raytheon and a 2019 Wash100 Award recipient, has said that organizations’ information and operational technology teams need to work together to ensure a strong cybersecurity posture.

In a guest piece published on Chief Executive, Kennedy wrote that manufacturing-focused companies must integrate IT and OT operations and establish a security governance team that will conduct regular assessments of OT systems. 

According to Kennedy, a “holistic, converged cybersecurity posture” is crucial for combating evolving threats that may infiltrate vulnerable IT and OT systems that handle critical company data and production operations.

He noted that an integrated policy framework will ensure streamlined collaborations between IT and OT teams, which tend to have overlapping missions as industrial operations continue to become more digitized and implement emerging concepts like internet of things.

“When IT and OT converge and are aligned, companies reduce risk, complete infrastructure projects faster, make the best use of their operational information, and save money,” he said. “Most important, they keep the machinery running.”