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Michael “Louder” Crouse

Aircraft Cybersecurity Engineer · Pilot & Flight Instructor

I work, and play, at the intersection of aviation and cybersecurity engineering — assessing and securing complex aircraft systems, and flying them. Twenty years in high-assurance systems work, from embedded avionics and anti-tamper engineering to formal security control assessment, on programs where the failure modes are expensive and the margins are thin.

Cybersecurity Engineering

M.S. in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance, B.S. in Electrical Engineering (minor, Computer Science). Two decades assessing and securing complex, high-assurance systems — control assessment, architecture review, embedded systems, and risk analysis for programs where security has to hold up under adversarial pressure, not just an audit. That engineering background includes building training and simulation systems tightly integrated with real avionics hardware — the kind of systems-level fluency that now shapes how I evaluate security controls. It's backed by CISSP, CEH, IAM Level III, CCNA and CCNA Security, and CNDA credentials — spanning security leadership, offensive security, information assurance management, and network defense.

Delivered “Trust” and Safety-Critical Aspects of Man-Machine Interfaces at DEFCON 33 (2025), examining how cybersecurity mandates — when misaligned with operational realities — can introduce risk into mission- and safety-critical systems, with implications spanning aviation, healthcare, and emergency response.

  • CISSP
  • CEH
  • IAM Level III
  • CCNA / CCNA Security
  • CNDA
  • M.S. Cybersecurity & Information Assurance
  • B.S. Electrical Engineering
  • Security Control Assessment
  • Embedded Systems & Avionics Integration

Aviation

Commercial Pilot and Certified Flight Instrument Instructor (CFII), instrument-rated since 2005, based out of KMWO (Middletown, OH). FAA Part 107 remote pilot for small unmanned aircraft.

On the engineering side, I assess cybersecurity posture across multiple aircraft systems — helicopters and fixed-wing platforms spanning passenger, cargo, special mission, and remotely piloted (RPA) categories — evaluating avionics, embedded systems, and mission systems against real-world attack paths rather than checklist compliance. Twenty years of hands-on work includes ACAT I acquisition programs, anti-tamper engineering, failure analysis, and embedded systems integration.

  • Commercial Pilot
  • Certified Flight Instrument Instructor (CFII)
  • Instrument Rated
  • Part 107 sUAS
  • Aircraft Systems Security Assessment
  • Anti-Tamper Engineering
  • Failure Analysis

Amateur Radio & Linux Systems

General Class amateur radio operator since 2010, running APRS via Direwolf. Alongside that, I administer a self-hosted Linux computing lab — multi-homed firewall, DNS, LDAP, NTP, and SSH services, plus self-hosted media and productivity infrastructure — with configuration control and security patching treated as standing practice rather than an afterthought.

  • Amateur Radio — General Class
  • APRS / Direwolf
  • Linux Systems Administration
  • Self-Hosted Infrastructure

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