Lockheed Martin [LMT] expects its cyber security-related business to continue growing in the double-digits over the next several years, building on the $1 billion in cyber business it currently does, officials with the company’s Information Systems & Global Solutions (IS&GS) business said on Feb. 18.
Growth in the cyber security business has been significant the past few years and the company in 2014 had met its targets that had been established with former Lockheed Martin Chairman and CEO Bob Stevens, Chandra McMahon, vice president for Commercial Markets within IS&GS told reporters during a briefing for the company’s annual media day. She said the IS&GS cyber team last year met with Marillyn Hewson, who succeeded Stevens in 2013 and has given them new growth targets.
Defense, intelligence and federal civilian work make up the bulk of Lockheed Martin’s cyber security business followed by commercial and then international, McMahon said. All of these markets are expected to grow in the double-digit range, she said. Later, in a separate briefing, McMahon said growth in the commercial business is expected to outpace coming gains in the defense space for cyber.
The commercial demand is being driven by critical infrastructure industries, McMahon said. Lockheed Martin is also providing consulting services to new and existing customers that are trying to better assess their current security posture in light of the Cybersecurity Framework that was published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology one year ago as part of a public-private effort to establish standards and best practices that industry could voluntarily adopt to strengthen cyber security, Darrell Durst, vice president of Operations for Defense and Intelligence within IS&GS, said at a briefing with McMahon.
About 20 to 25 percent of Lockheed Martin’s commercial cyber security business is with international customers, McMahon said. Last year the company made a small but strategic acquisition in the cyber security space buying Industrial Defender, which gave it new capabilities for providing security for industrial control systems, and new customers both domestically and internationally. Industrial Defender’s customers include utilities and the oil and gas industry among others.
Lockheed Martin’s commercial cyber business is strong in relation to securing enterprise information technology and the acquisition provided capabilities for securing operational technology, helping the business become a one-stop shop for cyber security, McMahon said.
Acquisitions that help the company build out its “holistic offering” for commercial cyber security are part of the growth strategy, McMahon said.
Lockheed Martin’s success serving commercial customers with their cyber security needs stands in contrast to Boeing [BA], which earlier this year divested its commercial cyber business through a sale to Symantec [SYMC]. Boeing remains committed to the defense and government cyber space.
In the defense market, Lockheed Martin sees growth opportunities in training and augmenting the military services and U.S. Cyber Command as they build up their cyber forces, the company officials said. The company also expects to vie for an enterprise SecurityOperationsCenter support contract with the Department of Homeland Security and be in the hunt for forthcoming task orders for the department’s Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program.
There are also a number of classified business opportunities, the officials said.
Companies are also increasingly interested in coping with insider threats and ways to improve the cyber security of their supply chains, the officials said.