David M. Brown

David M. Brown is an experienced cybersecurity executive with over 20 years of experience. He has served as a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for three startups and is the author of The Lean CISO: Bootstrapping Cybersecurity in Startups. His career began in the Coast Guard, and he has consulted for Fortune 500 companies. He focuses on creating compliant systems that protect data while enabling innovation and scalability. Dave's cybersecurity journey includes notable roles such as leading the computer incident response team in the Coast Guard and serving as deputy director of the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team. He also spent seven years as an adjunct professor, teaching various cybersecurity courses, and served on the Technical Advisory Board at a local community and technical college. In his free time, Dave enjoys spending time with his family, mentoring aspiring cybersecurity experts, and pursuing hobbies like playing drums and guitar.