The Raytheon stock price jumped 1.5% to $107.25 Tuesday morning after announcing it has a new $1 billion cybersecurity contact with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
DHS elected Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) to be the prime contractor and systems integrator for the agency's Network Security Deployment (NSD) division and its National Cybersecurity Protection System (NCPS).
In short, Raytheon will now help more than 100 civilian agencies protect their computer security.
The contract runs for the next five years. Some orders could be extended an additional two years.
This comes after the U.S. Office of Personnel Management recently suffered one of the most harmful breaches in history.
In early July, government investigators reported that data theft from OPM computer systems compromised sensitive personal information of roughly 21.5 million people. In addition to Social Security numbers, hackers obtained information from the security clearance applications of 19.7 million people.
Raytheon has invested some $3.5 billion over the last several years to expand its cybersecurity capabilities. In June, the company opened a new 30,000 square foot cybersecurity center in the Washington, D.C. area.
The focus on cybersecurity has helped the Raytheon stock price climb 11.5% in the last three months.
Here's a look at how they've ramped up their cybersecurity program...
Cybersecurity Pushes Raytheon Stock Price Higher
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Raytheon's Global Cyber Solutions Center (GCSC) is located in Sterling, Va., and it will serve as a demonstration center for government cybersecurity.
According to Raytheon, the GCSC will help employees address increased threats associated with the Internet of Things, mobile devices, and cloud computing.
Without question, the importance of cybersecurity is growing.
The Global State of Information Security Survey 2015 found cyber attacks have risen 66% every year since 2009.
Conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the 2014 survey found the total number of security incidents detected by respondents grew to 42.8 million globally.
Cybersecurity stocks have been in focus at Money Morning throughout 2015.
"The money spent on cyber defense represents one of the highest profit potentials of anything I've encountered," Money Morning Small-Cap Investing Specialist Sid Riggs said in February. "And the growth numbers spotlight not just one company, but an entire sector that will have the wind at its back for the rest of our investing lifetimes."
By 2019, cybersecurity spending will reach $155.74 billion, according to market research firm MarketsandMarkets. That's a 63% growth rate.
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