Icon Cyber is the creation of respected cyber security and information technology industry leaders Peter Kazacos and Peter Coroneos. As traditional methods fail to keep up with the rapidly evolving threat environment, we are innovating to bring about powerful behavioural change in organisations starting from board and executive leadership through to operational teams. Icon Cyber has a strong social agenda and is developing cyber education based on behavioural principles for the most vulnerable members of our society.
Peter Kazacos OAM (Chairman, Icon Cyber)
Industry leader, IT and systems integration pioneer, Peter Kazacos has over 40 years of business experience and expertise. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience as a company director and as a sophisticated investor having amassed an extensive and successful cash, property, equities and derivatives portfolios.
Peter started KAZ Computer Services Pty Ltd in 1988, and led the company over its 17-year history. Guiding it from its humble beginnings as a small IT services company in suburban NSW, to its evolution into one of the largest multinational IT companies in the Asia Pacific; and the largest Australian owned IT Company.
He listed KAZ Group Ltd on the ASX in 2000, KAZ grew from 350 employees at its listing to over 4000 employees. Peter sold KAZ to Telstra (Australia’s largest telecommunications company) in 2004 for a value of $333 million; at the time Telstra acquired KAZ it had revenues in excess of $350 million.
Peter was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2018 for his charitable works aiding disadvantaged youth and a disability support initiative that creates work for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He is funding pioneering research using humanoid robots to improve communications and socialisation of children living with autism.
He is active on a number of boards where he is valued for his extensive business experience, deep technological knowledge and clarity of thinking.
Peter Coroneos (CEO, Icon Cyber)
Industry leader, international cybersecurity pioneer and acknowledged thought leader. Peter has extensive national and international public speaking and media coverage on cyber issues, incidents, governance and best practice.
He is highly regarded for his passionate commitment to a safer, fairer, faster and more trusted internet in Australia, and for his sustained efforts in safeguarding its transition from emerging to mainstream. He has a deep understanding of the human factors governing internet usage and uptake, and has long advocated TRUST as the fundamental premise on which 21st century information society will function.
From 1997-2011 Peter served as Chief Executive of Internet Industry Association, the national trade association for internet in Australia. (IIA merged with Communications Alliance 2012). Peter grew the Association from a handful of founding members in 1997 to over 380 national and multinational technology and internet companies covering over 90% of Australia’s internet population.
During this time, he contributed to the development of core legislation supporting today’s internet business and social use, including the Spam Act, Cybercrime Act, content regulation under the Broadcasting Services Act, amendments protecting carriage service and hosting providers under the Copyright Act, and the private sector amendments to the Privacy Act which gave rise to mandatory data breach reporting requirements for public safety. He served for nine years as a founding director of NetAlert, a Commonwealth initiative to protect children online. In addition, he served two terms on the Privacy Advisory Committee as technology trends and issues advisor to the Privacy Commission. He also led the development of industry codes of practice governing security, privacy, and child safety.
In 2001, Peter spearheaded an 11th hour action to protect internet streaming from the proposed requirement for a broadcasting licence, a victory which guaranteed the future of broadband content services and delivery. Peter was also architect of the 2006 National Broadband Targets which catalysed the 2007 policy commitment by the then Government for a national fibre network and later, a historic $46bn election commitment which heralded unprecedented infrastructure for future internet communications.
During his tenure, Peter pioneered a number of major cyber safety initiatives including icode, recognised and followed as model of international best practice for identification, notification and management of malware infected computers on Australian ISP networks, a scheme whose measures persist today. As a result of his leadership in this area Peter was twice invited to the White House to brief Obama administration cybersecurity leadership on implementation of icode. He worked closely with presidential cybersecurity advisor Howard Schmidt in advising on joint industry government cooperation. US later implemented a parallel version of the Australian icode with major US ISPs covering millions of US users.
He contributes his voluntary efforts to improving cyber security as Regional Head APAC for the global Cybersecurity Advisors Network. In his spare time, Peter runs a community program bringing mindfulness and meditation techniques to those seeking relief from stress, anxiety and depression. He attributes his longstanding daily practice of deep meditation as his ‘not-so-secret weapon’ in his career success.
Peter is qualified in science, education and law and recently co-authored The Cyber Breach Communication Playbook.