With a career spanning academia, government and industry, Professor Dali Kaafar is the founder and CEO of Apate.ai, a pioneering AI company revolutionising scam disruption and fraud intelligence at scale. Professor Kaafar is a globally recognised expert in cybersecurity, privacy-preserving technologies and AI-driven fraud prevention.

As Executive Director of the Macquarie University Cyber Security Hub, he leads cutting-edge research in Trustworthy Digital Economies. Professor Kaafar also serves as the Director of the Cyber Range Training Centre and the Cyber Discipline Lead at the Institute of Applied Technology Digital in New South Wales and has been New South Wales Cyber Ambassador since 2019, advocating for stronger digital defences at state and national level.

Previously, he founded and led the Information Security & Privacy Group at CSIRO’s Data61, spearheading research in data security, privacy and network resilience. He also led the Networks and Mobile Systems research groups at National ICT Australia (NICTA), shaping the evolution of secure and scalable communication systems.
Professor Kaafar has been the recipient of several prestigious awards including:
- Australian Top 100 Innovators of the Year in 2023
- Australian Top 100 Innovators of the Year in 2024
- AI Researcher of the Year (Australian AI Awards)
- ARN Innovation Awards - Startup Entrepreneur of the Year