One-liner 28 words
David Jacoby is an award-winning cybersecurity keynote speaker, vulnerability researcher and ethical hacker with thirty years in the hacker underground, the research lab and the boardroom.
Press & booking kit · David Jacoby
Everything
you need.
For agencies, event teams and media: bios in three lengths, synopses of every talk, hi-res press photos, ready-made social media images and the practical details. Use freely to promote David's appearances.
At a glance.
- Name
- David Jacoby
- Title for programmes
- Cybersecurity keynote speaker & ethical hacker. Alternatives: vulnerability researcher · Chief Strategy Officer, Syndis · professional internet troublemaker
- Experience
- 30+ years of ethical hacking, vulnerability research and security leadership. In the hacker underground since 1994.
- Languages
- English and Swedish, natively. Travels from Sweden, speaks worldwide.
- Author
- Co-author of ESG in the Age of AI (Packt, 2026). Technical advisor to the Millennium trilogy. Featured in Svenska Hackare, Generation 500, A Guide to Kernel Exploitation and Cybersecurity ABCs.
- Signature
- Live hacking on stage, on the kind of devices the audience owns. Zero fear-mongering.
- Recognition
- Excellent Speaker 2024 (Speakers&friends, min. 4.8/5 over 50+ evaluations) · Stöldskyddsföreningen merit badge 2021 for the fight against digital crime · Award-winning speaker, Executive Network / Dagens Industri 2024
- Web & social
- cybersecurityspeaker.com · davidjacoby.se · LinkedIn · Instagram @davidjacoby
Bios, three lengths.
Written in the third person, ready to paste into programmes, websites and press releases. The copy button takes the text without formatting.
Short bio about 100 words
David Jacoby has been hacking things, ethically, for more than thirty years. He started in the underground scene of the 1990s and went on to uncover critical vulnerabilities, pioneer IoT hacking research, expose large-scale scam operations and advise Fortune 500 boards on how attackers really operate. He is Chief Strategy Officer at Syndis, founder of Unbreached and the Threat Prevention Center, one of the ethical hackers in SVT's HACKAD_, technical advisor to the Millennium trilogy and co-author of ESG in the Age of AI. On stage he is known for one thing above all: he hacks live, and nobody leaves scared, only wiser.
Medium bio about 200 words
David Jacoby has spent more than thirty years thinking like an attacker and working like a defender. What began as pure curiosity in the hacker underground of the 1990s, under the handles pewp and speed_phreak, became a lifelong mission: find the flaws before someone else does.
Over the decades he has uncovered critical vulnerabilities, pioneered IoT hacking research by breaking into his own home, exposed large-scale scam operations, traced nation-scale attacks and demonstrated how to get into a fully updated Mac without a single hacking tool. His research has been covered by MIT Technology Review, Dark Reading, Forbes, The Economist and Swedish prime-time television, and he has ethically hacked, with permission, systems in space, in the air, on the water and on the ground, critical infrastructure included.
David has held senior leadership roles at international security companies, founded Unbreached, the Threat Prevention Center and Sprinkler Security Sweden, and is today Chief Strategy Officer at Syndis. He has advised Fortune 500 boards and taken companies from idea to growth and exit. Audiences know him from SVT's HACKAD_, where he hacked Swedish companies live on television, and from the Millennium trilogy, where he designed the intrusions Lisbeth Salander uses. He is co-author of ESG in the Age of AI, global ambassador for HackShield and works with the World Childhood Foundation.
An award-winning keynote speaker in English and Swedish, David hacks live on stage, combines psychology with technology and never resorts to fear.
Long bio about 420 words
David Jacoby is an award-winning cybersecurity keynote speaker, vulnerability researcher and ethical hacker. For more than thirty years he has been thinking like an attacker and working like a defender, and he is one of very few people who have lived every part of the story: the underground, the research lab, the founder's chair and the boardroom.
It started in 1994 in the hacker underground, in the BBS and demoscene culture of the time, where he was known as pewp and speed_phreak and co-founded hack.se, one of Sweden's most talked-about hacker groups. The curiosity never went away; it simply got permission. As chief hacker at Outpost24 and in senior roles at other international security companies, David built security tools, tested systems and submitted bug bounty reports long before it was fashionable. Basically, if there is a way in, he has probably found it.
His research has repeatedly made headlines. He pioneered IoT hacking by finding fourteen vulnerabilities in his own home before the Internet of Things had a name, work presented at RSA Conference and covered by MIT Technology Review and Dark Reading. He unmasked fake Microsoft tech-support scammers and handed the evidence to PayPal and law enforcement. He traced nation-scale attacks on Sweden, uncovered cross-platform malware spreading through Facebook Messenger, demonstrated how to hack a country for fun and profit and how to get into a fully updated Mac without a single hacking tool. With permission, he has hacked systems in space, in the air, on the water and on the ground, including critical infrastructure. Today his focus is new exploits, new vulnerabilities and novel techniques, found, published and shown live.
As a leader David has founded Unbreached, the Threat Prevention Center, Sprinkler Security Sweden and Secure Minds, advised Fortune 500 boards on how real attackers operate and taken companies from idea to growth and exit. Since 2024 he is Chief Strategy Officer at Syndis, where he leads offensive security, advanced security operations and executive advisory.
Audiences across Sweden know him as one of the ethical hackers in SVT's HACKAD_, where he and his colleagues hacked Swedish companies live on television, and from TV4 Nyhetsmorgon, Veckans Ord and Stoppa Tjuven. He was technical advisor to David Lagercrantz's continuation of the Millennium trilogy, designing the hacks Lisbeth Salander uses, worked behind the scenes of SVT's Tunna blå linjen, and appears in the books A Guide to Kernel Exploitation, Svenska Hackare, Generation 500 and Cybersecurity ABCs. He is co-author of ESG in the Age of AI (Packt, 2026).
In 2021 Stöldskyddsföreningen awarded him its merit badge for his work against digital crime, and in 2024 he was named Excellent Speaker by Speakers&friends on the strength of audience ratings. He is global ambassador for HackShield, which teaches children cybersecurity through play, and works with the World Childhood Foundation to protect children online.
On stage, in English or Swedish, David hacks live on the kind of devices the audience owns, mixes psychology with technology and tells the stories behind the headlines, with humour, without fear, and always with something to do on Monday morning.
Kort bio på svenska ca 120 ord
David Jacoby är en av Sveriges mest profilerade etiska hackare, sårbarhetsforskare och en prisbelönt keynote-talare. Han har hackat, med tillstånd, i över trettio år: från undergroundscenen på nittiotalet, via forskning som hamnat på löpsedlarna, till styrelserum i Fortune 500-bolag. Han är Chief Strategy Officer på Syndis, grundare av Unbreached och Threat Prevention Center, en av hackarna i SVT:s HACKAD_, teknisk rådgivare till Millenniumtrilogin och medförfattare till boken ESG in the Age of AI. 2021 fick han Stöldskyddsföreningens förtjänsttecken för sitt arbete mot digital brottslighet och 2024 utsågs han till Excellent Speaker. På scen hackar han live, kombinerar psykologi med teknik och skrämmer aldrig någon. Publiken går därifrån klokare, och med en lista på vad de ska göra på måndag.
Stage introduction for the host, about 40 seconds
Our next speaker started hacking in 1994 and never really stopped. He has found vulnerabilities in his own home, in a fully updated Mac, in critical infrastructure and in a whole country. He has hacked Swedish companies live on national television, designed the hacks in the Millennium books and advised Fortune 500 boards on how attackers really think. Today he is Chief Strategy Officer at Syndis, and in a moment he is going to break something, live, on this stage. Please welcome David Jacoby.
Synopses.
Every talk is tailored to the room: boards, engineers or the public get the same depth in different language. Lengths are typical, not fixed. Alternative titles used by bureaus are listed under each talk.
Welcome to the Breach: A Live Hacking Experience
a.k.a. Live Hacking · signature talk
What does a cyberattack actually look like while it happens? David breaks in live on stage, using brand-new research and the kind of devices, apps and accounts the audience uses every day: phones, laptops, smart devices, access badges and people. No pre-recorded video, no safety net. Step by step the room watches how small, ordinary mistakes chain together into a serious breach, and what would have stopped it at every stage. Then he shows exactly that.
- How attackers actually think and sequence an intrusion
- Which everyday habits matter most, and which are theatre
- A concrete list of things to change on Monday
ForConference keynotes, all-hands, executive off-sites, customer eventsLength30–60 min keynote · 45–90 min live hack showAudienceEveryone, technical or not
30 Years of Hacking
a.k.a. History of Hackers, Crackers, Phreakers and Cyberpunks · From Underground to Boardroom
From phone phreaking and the BBS scene of the eighties and nineties to today's organised cybercrime, told by someone who was there. David takes the audience through the culture, the curiosity and the characters that shaped the digital world: how the underground turned into an industry, how hacker curiosity ended up running the world, and why the hacker mindset is still the most valuable skill in security. Personal, funny and full of stories that never made the news.
- Where hackers came from and what they actually wanted
- How curiosity became crime, and how it became a profession
- What leaders can borrow from the hacker mindset
ForConferences, company events, inspiration slots, mediaLength30–60 minAudienceBroad, from engineers to the general public
The Cybercrime Economy
a.k.a. Cybercrime and the Underground Economy · Winning the War on Cybercrime
Modern cybercrime is a professional industry with markets, suppliers, price lists, affiliate programmes and customer support. Yes, customer support. David walks through the hidden economy that fuels it: how stolen credentials, malware, network access and ransomware services are traded, who the players are and what it costs to buy an attack on a company like yours. With live demonstrations of real marketplaces and tools, the audience learns where their organisation shows up in that economy and how to make itself a bad deal for criminals.
- The roles, markets and pricing behind an attack
- How your company is already listed, and by whom
- How to raise the price of attacking you
ForBoards, leadership teams, finance and risk, security teamsLength30–60 minAudienceBusiness and technical
Cyber Psychology
a.k.a. What Is Your Digital Price? · Scams & the Human Factor
Why do intelligent, careful people click? David combines psychology with technology to show how attackers exploit trust, stress, curiosity and habit, and demonstrates it on consenting humans in the room. From phishing and tech-support scams to deepfakes and social engineering, the audience sees the tricks from the inside and learns how to change behaviour rather than just awareness. Everyone leaves knowing their own digital price, and how to raise it.
- The psychological levers behind every successful scam
- Live social engineering, with volunteers
- Habits that make a person, and a company, hard to fool
ForAll employees, awareness programmes, public events, leadershipLength30–60 minAudienceEveryone
Weaponizing AI for Fun & Profit new · 2027
full title: How to Weaponise AI for Fun and Profit, and Defend Your Organisation
Artificial intelligence is changing both sides of cybersecurity. David shows how attackers already use AI for phishing, reconnaissance, vulnerability discovery and social engineering at scale, how defenders can use it for detection and response, and where the hype runs far ahead of reality. With live examples, the session separates the real risks from the noise and gives leaders a practical view of what to do about it, now and over the next few years.
- What actually changes when attackers, defenders and everyone else has a model
- Live: AI-assisted attacks, and what they look like from the inside
- A defence plan that does not depend on buying more AI
ForExecutive audiences, tech and security conferences, IT teamsLength30–60 minAvailabilityBooking for 2027
Security at the Top
a.k.a. Moving Towards Value-Based Cybersecurity · Ethical Hacking & Corporate Security: What Every Leader Must Know
Cybersecurity is too often treated as a technical problem, a compliance exercise or an unavoidable cost. Drawing on thirty years of advising large organisations and their boards, David reframes security as a way to protect business value, support decisions and enable innovation. No acronyms, no fear. Leaders get the questions they should ask their security team, how to read the answers and how to make security part of strategy rather than a line in the budget.
- The five questions every board should ask about security
- How to tell real risk from vendor noise
- Security as value protection, not cost
ForBoards, C-suite, management teams, owners and investorsLength30–60 min keynote · 60–120 min board briefingAudienceDecision makers
Also on the menu
- How I Hacked My HomeThe IoT research that started it all: fourteen vulnerabilities in one ordinary home, and what it means now that everything is online.
- How to Hack a Country for Fun and ProfitA nation as an attack surface: what David found, how it was done and what it taught the people in charge.
- Demystifying the macOS Attack ChainInto a fully updated Mac without a single hacking tool. What that says about every platform.
- Supply Chain Attacks ExplainedWhy your weakest link is someone else's employee, and how to see it coming.
- Social Engineering & Physical IntrusionGetting past locks, badges and people. The attacks that never touch a firewall.
- Security Culture That SticksTurning awareness from a checkbox into real behaviour, for teams, leaders and boards.
- The Insecurity of ThingsSmart homes, cars, medical and industrial gear: how everyday connected devices get owned.
- Hacker History & CultureThe scene, the ethics and the people, for audiences who want the story behind the headlines.
Tailor-made presentationsNot on the menu? David builds one-of-a-kind presentations around a specific industry, audience and threat picture, with research, demos and story made for one room only. Ask for one through the booking form.
On stage.
Keynote30–60 min
The headline talk, live hacks included, tailored to the programme.
Live Hack Show45–90 min
Longer, deeper, more demos. Built for a room that wants to see it all.
Board / Executive briefing60–120 min
Closed-door session for decision makers. Questions encouraged.
Workshop½–1 day
Hands-on with teams, from awareness to attack simulation.
Panel · Fireside · Moderatorflexible
In English or Swedish, on security, hacking, AI, crime and culture.
Media · Podcaston request
Expert commentary, interviews, long-form conversation.
Practical
- Languages: English and Swedish, natively. Mixed audiences are fine.
- Travels from Sweden. Worldwide, in person or online.
- Typical set-up: one stage, one screen with HDMI, one headset or lavalier mic, audio from the laptop.
- For live hacking David brings his own kit and demo network. A dedicated internet line is appreciated but not required.
- Happy to do Q&A, meet-and-greet and a pre-event call to tailor content.
- Recording and streaming: ask when booking.
Good to know
- Nothing is pre-recorded. Every hack is done live, which is why audiences remember it.
- Zero fear-mongering. The tone is funny, honest and useful.
- Demos are legal and consensual. Volunteers from the audience are always asked first.
- Content can be adapted to a sector, a product or a specific incident, with notice.
What they say.
"David tailored a presentation that made all of the material relevant to us. The audience loved it."
Mathias Lindwe, Team Manager & CyberSec Manager, Knightec
"Super professional and engaging, got the audience with him and it was a success!"
Madeleine Moe, Communications, Statens servicecenter
"Excellent Speaker 2024: a minimum rating of 4.8 out of 5 across at least 50 evaluations from at least three separate events."
Speakers&friends
Stages
- RSA Conference USA
- (ISC)² Security Congress EMEA (opening keynote)
- Virus Bulletin
- Swiss Cyber Storm (keynote)
- DefCamp
- GISEC Global
- Netnod, Internetdagarna, IDC Security Roadshow, Fortinet Security Day
Media
- SVT HACKAD_, TV4 Nyhetsmorgon, Veckans Ord, Stoppa Tjuven
- MIT Technology Review, Dark Reading, Threatpost, SC Magazine
- Forbes, The Economist
- Dagens Industri, Dagens Nyheter, Expressen, Aftonbladet
Books & screen
- Co-author, ESG in the Age of AI (Packt, 2026)
- Technical advisor, the Millennium trilogy (David Lagercrantz)
- Behind the scenes, SVT's Tunna blå linjen
- Featured in A Guide to Kernel Exploitation, Svenska Hackare, Generation 500, Cybersecurity ABCs
Roles
- Chief Strategy Officer, Syndis (since 2024)
- Founder: Unbreached, Threat Prevention Center, Sprinkler Security Sweden, Secure Minds
- Co-founder, hack.se
- Earlier roles: chief hacker at Outpost24, senior roles at Truesec and other security companies
- Global ambassador, HackShield · partner, World Childhood Foundation
Hi-res photos.
Click any photo for the full-resolution original. All photos may be used free of charge to promote David's appearances and in related editorial coverage. Credit the photographer where one is named.
↓ jpg01. Studio portrait, dark suit, white background2362 × 2953 px · 2.6 MB
↓ jpg02. Smiling, dark blazer, brick wall2382 × 2953 px · 4.6 MB
↓ jpg03. Arms crossed in the library2400 × 1601 px · 0.4 MB
↓ jpg04. Relaxed on a leather sofa, library2400 × 1714 px · 0.4 MB
↓ jpg05. Working on a sticker-covered laptop, library6826 × 5120 px · 4.1 MB
↓ jpg06. With the retro computer collection1601 × 2400 px · 0.4 MB
↓ jpg07. On the pier, laptop under his arm1601 × 2400 px · 0.4 MB
↓ jpg08. By a pine tree at the coast1601 × 2400 px · 0.4 MB
↓ jpg09. Leaning on a railing by the sea1601 × 2400 px · 0.3 MB
↓ jpg10. Sitting on the railing, laptop open1601 × 2400 px · 0.4 MB
↓ jpg11. On the boardwalk1601 × 2400 px · 0.4 MB
↓ jpg12. On a pier bench with laptop, wide2400 × 1800 px · 0.8 MB
↓ jpg13. On a pier bench with laptop1601 × 2400 px · 0.6 MB
↓ jpg14. On the beach among the pines4772 × 7154 px · 6.2 MB
↓ jpg15. Beach portrait, smiling1601 × 2400 px · 0.4 MB
↓ jpg16. On stage (web resolution)1024 × 683 px · 0.1 MB
↓ jpg17. At the desk, wide. © Julia Olsson1920 × 1281 px · 0.6 MB
↓ jpg18. At the desk. © Julia Olsson1090 × 1281 px · 0.3 MB
Usage: cropping is fine, other alterations are not. Please do not use the photos for purposes unrelated to David Jacoby. Photos 17 and 18 © Julia Olsson, credit required. Need a specific size or format? Use the contact form.
Book David.
Direct bookings
Any country, any stage, in English or Swedish. Fast answers, usually within a day or two.
Booking form →International bureau
Keynotes and live hack shows can also be booked through Chartwell Speakers.
Chartwell Speakers ↗Swedish bureaus
David is also represented in Sweden by:
Press, media & management
Interviews, podcasts, expert commentary, partnerships and everything else.
Contact form →
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