Lockheed Martin: Creating a Culture Focused on Protecting One of Its Most Important Assets, Information

Any business depends on the integrity of its information and the trust of its customers. But it’s especially so when that business manufactures sensitive and expensive weapons and information systems upon which the national security of the United States depends. Unfortunately, among its 140,000 plus employees scattered around the world, bad habits and more sophisticated enemies could put the company and its critical information at risk for Lockheed Martin and its customers.

The Corporate Information Security Team brought The Grossman Group on board to create a communications campaign designed to drive awareness and understanding of the right behaviors and actions necessary to protect the Corporation’s information assets. Utilizing the tools and resources that comprise the Grossman Methodology, we developed “The I Campaign” to emphasize the personal responsibility each employee has for protecting Lockheed Martin. As part of The I Campaign, we developed the key messages, internal branding and communications tools that highlight the top security threats and risks in a compelling and meaningful way for employees in all functions and at all levels. The centerpiece of the I Campaign is an ongoing “choose your own adventure” game that introduces employees to relevant scenarios and helps them learn the right behaviors and actions based on their choices.

The I Campaign was rolled out across the Corporation, with the Chief Information Officer as the “face” of the campaign. According to one senior leader, “The I Campaign is hitting all the right notes in the right way. It’s starting to truly make a difference every day, which will make a difference for us for the long term.”

The one year risk reduction results generated by The I Campaign are evident by looking at two key measures: (1) reduction in employee undesired action rate, and (2) increase in identification and reporting of suspicious e-mail.

The results of the one year progress test show an overall improvement in the undesired action rate at Lockheed Martin ranging from 35-51 percent. The Corporation also saw a ten-fold increase in reporting of potential cyber security incidents.