Dr. Dane Brown

Dane Brown is an Associate Professor in the Cyber Science Department at the United States Naval Academy (USNA). He holds a B.S in Electrical Engineering (USNA '05) and an M.S. in Computer Engineering (NPS '06). He completed a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering (Virginia Tech '19) with a focus on analyzing the security of firmware in ARM environments.

Dr. Brown is the first USNA Hall of Fame athlete (Sprint Football, 2005) to also receive the highest Civilian Teaching award (Class of 1951 Civilian Faculty Teaching Excellence Award in honor of Professor Theodore J. Benac, 2025) from the institution.  Originally an instructor in the Electrical Engineering department, he quickly got involved in teaching and developing courses for the new Cyber additions to the Naval Academy core curriculum. In 2014, he was hired into the new Cyber Science department and charged with helping to create the curriculum and course sequence for the emergent Cyber Operations major. To this end, he adapted and delivered a course which introduces students to computer architecture and design principles in a hands-on format. Dane also serves as the faculty representative for the Cyber Security Team (CST) and has coached talented groups of midshipmen to 4 victories in the annual Cybersecurity competition facilitated by the National Security Agency.

Prior to joining the Naval Academy faculty, Dr. Brown served as a Submarine Officer in the U.S. Navy responsible for maintenance, personnel, and operations on board the USS Boise (SSN 764).  Even after transitioning to academia, he continued to serve as a Naval Reservist. Dane frequently used this time to provide technical expertise to emerging Cybersecurity Operations, such as when he deployed to U.S. Central Command to work in the Joint Cyber Center in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Dr. Brown's expertise lies in problem solving at the lowest levels of computer software, hardware, and networks.
He has a passion for information system security to include:

• Reverse Engineering
• Binary Exploitation
• Cryptography
• Digital Forensics
• Privacy and Trust
• Microprocessors
• Communications Protocols
• Signal Processing
• Side Channel Analysis
• Biometrics
• Cyber and STEM Education