David Jacoby Keynote Speaker

Cybersecurity strategist and ethical hacker with more than 30 years of experience
Chief Strategy Officer at Syndis and founder of Unbreached and the Threat Prevention Center
Internationally recognised keynote speaker known for his interactive live hacking sessions and featured as one of the ethical hackers in the TV series HACKAD

David Jacoby's Biography

For more than 30 years, David Jacoby has been thinking like an attacker and working like a defender. He began in the underground hacking era, long before cybersecurity reached the boardroom. What started as curiosity: exploring systems, understanding weaknesses, pushing boundaries. It evolved into a lifelong mission: find the flaws before someone else does.

Over the decades, David has uncovered critical vulnerabilities, pioneered IoT hacking research, exposed large-scale scam operations, written security tools, and helped organizations understand how real attackers operate. He has advised multiple Fortune 500 companies, guiding executives and boards through the complex threat landscape. If there’s a way in, he understands it. If it can be abused, he knows how, and how to stop it.

He has held senior leadership roles at multiple international security companies, founded Unbreached and the Threat Prevention Center, and today serves as Chief Strategy Officer at Syndis, driving strategy across offensive security, advanced SOC capabilities, and executive-level advisory.

An internationally award winning and recognized keynote speaker and author, David bridges hacker culture with executive clarity. He created and hosted his own TV show, HACKAD_, bringing ethical hacking to a broader audience, and served as trusted technical advisor to the Millennium series, ensuring even fictional hacks reflected reality.

Beyond business, he works closely with the World Childhood Foundation and is the global ambassador for HackShield, working to protect children online and inspire the next generation of ethical hackers.

Cybercrime and the Underground Economy

Step inside the hidden economy that fuels modern cybercrime. Through live hacking demonstrations, David reveals the tools, services and techniques attackers use to compromise organisations and individuals. Discover how stolen credentials, malware, access to corporate networks and other criminal services are bought and sold, and learn how cybercrime has evolved into a professional, global industry.

History of Hackers, Crackers, Phreakers and Cyberpunks

Explore the fascinating history of hacking, from telephone phreakers and early computer enthusiasts to crackers, cyberpunks, ethical hackers and today’s organised cybercriminals. David shares stories and insights from decades within the hacker community, examining the culture, curiosity and rebellious thinking that helped shape our digital world. Discover how hacking evolved from experimentation and exploration into a global force influencing technology, security and society.

How to Weaponise AI for Fun and Profit—and Defend Your Organisation

Artificial intelligence is transforming cybersecurity for both attackers and defenders. Through practical examples and live demonstrations, David explores how AI can be weaponised to create convincing phishing attacks, automate reconnaissance, manipulate information, discover vulnerabilities and accelerate cybercrime. He also shows how organisations can use the same technology to strengthen their defences, improve detection, support security teams and respond faster to emerging threats. Discover where AI genuinely changes the game, where the hype exceeds reality and what your organisation should be preparing for today.

Moving Towards Value-Based Cybersecurity: Turning Security into a Business Enabler

Cybersecurity is too often treated as a technical problem, a compliance exercise or an unavoidable cost. In this session, David challenges managers and leaders to view cybersecurity through a different lens: as a tool for protecting business value, enabling innovation and supporting confident decision-making.

Discover how to move away from fear-driven security and generic controls towards a value-based approach aligned with the organisation’s goals, risks and priorities. David explores how leaders can ask better questions, communicate security in business terms and create a culture where cybersecurity supports growth, trust and digital transformation rather than standing in their way.

Welcome to the Breach: A Live Hacking Experience

What does a cyberattack actually look like when it happens in real time? In this fast-paced and interactive session, David takes the audience inside the mind of a hacker, demonstrating how attackers identify weaknesses, manipulate people, bypass security controls and gain access to systems and data.

Through live hacking, storytelling and real-world examples, the audience will see how seemingly minor mistakes can be combined into a serious breach. More importantly, they will learn how attackers think, why traditional security measures are often not enough and what organisations and individuals can do to make themselves significantly harder to hack.

No fearmongering, no unnecessary jargon—just an eye-opening journey into how hacking really works.

He helps organisations strengthen cyber resilience by revealing how attackers think, enabling leaders to better understand cyber risk, anticipate threats and protect their most valuable assets.
He translates decades of frontline ethical hacking experience into practical, executive-level insights, equipping organisations to make smarter security decisions in an increasingly complex digital landscape.
He combines the perspective of a hacker, cybersecurity strategist and business adviser, helping boards and leadership teams bridge the gap between technical threats and commercial risk.
He has spent more than 30 years uncovering vulnerabilities, pioneering IoT security research and advising Fortune 500 companies on offensive security, threat prevention and cyber resilience.
His keynotes equip audiences to think like attackers, build stronger security cultures and prepare for the evolving challenges of AI, cybercrime and digital transformation.