Amazon executive supports new path for cybersecurity students

Arthur Deane ’08 (electrical engineering) broke into the cybersecurity industry and he hasn’t looked back. Now, he’s helping others unlock opportunities in cybersecurity, paving the way for a more diverse and inclusive tech industry.

Deane has become a leader in the field and currently works in Washington, D.C., as Chief Information Security Officer at Amazon Health Services. On the same week that he started that CISO role, he also established an endowed scholarship fund to support African American, Latin American, and Native American students enrolled in cybersecurity at RIT.

“I rarely had someone who looked like me and was doing things I aspired to do, someone whose shoes I could see myself in,” said Deane. “I want to give people what I wish I had, so they can thrive in this rigorous program. My scholarship recipients are also future mentees.”

Growing up, Deane enjoyed exploring technology and breaking things—just to put them back together. He chose to attend RIT for the practical engineering experience and the co-op program. There was no cybersecurity degree at the time, but Deane saw electrical engineering as the ideal place to learn all things technology.

“It was an eye-opener in terms of diversity—coming from the Bronx where all my peers were people of color, then going to a program that was not very diverse,” said Deane. “In some ways, it prepared me for corporate America, where I got used to being the only one in the room.”

One year into his electrical engineering career, he noticed that government and industry were starting to take cybersecurity seriously. He was working on a small intelligence community program and he pivoted full force into the cyber world.

“It piqued my intellectual curiosity because the field changes every day,” said Deane. “I tried a bunch of different cyber roles to learn all the different components of the industry, from penetration testing to doing digital forensics, and even less technical areas like risk management.”

Deane’s many cybersecurity leadership roles at Amazon, Google, and Capital One have shaped his perspective on balancing the tensions between security, compliance, and innovation. He emphasizes the importance of meeting regulatory compliance while striving for top-tier security.

Now, with Amazon Health, he’s driving innovative solutions that allow the healthcare business to advance securely.

“I’m excited by the opportunity to transform an industry as critical as healthcare, with security and privacy driving much of the innovation,” said Deane.

Deane’s commitment to opening the world of cybersecurity extends beyond his office job. He has written books on cybersecurity certifications, which are an important way for people to enter the cybersecurity industry and hone their skills. He is also an adjunct instructor at American University, a member of the Computer Science Advisory Board at Howard University, and a member of RIT’s Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences National Council.

Deane enjoys international travel and learning about local cultures. He said that getting different viewpoints is important for cybersecurity, too.

“Relying on a single perspective limits our ability to understand and address complex problems,” said Deane. “Building diverse organizations and encouraging broad viewpoints ensures that we can effectively tackle the large problems that we see every day in this industry.”