Jewish gongs at Australian Cyber Awards
MinterEllison partner Paul Kallenbach was named Cyber Lawyer of the Year.
Amid the black ties and swirling conversations of tech-speak, there was also a Jewish flavour to the 2026 Australian Cyber Awards.
Held on April 30 at The Star in Sydney, the awards recognise the top businesses and professionals in the cyber sector in Australia.
MinterEllison partner Paul Kallenbach was named Cyber Lawyer of the Year.
“I’m genuinely chuffed,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
“Cyber incident response is messy, high-pressure work, and the professionals who do it well are part of a small community in Australia. Being recognised by that community means a lot.
“Thank you to my MinterEllison colleagues across our cyber legal and consulting practices, and to every client who’s called me on a weekend with a sentence that begins ‘so, we have a situation…'”
Meanwhile, the Cyber Security Response Team of the Year was won by hipages Group – which was co-founded more than 20 years ago by David Vitek and Roby Sharon-Zipser.
“Huge congratulations to our Security team on being named Cyber Security Response Team of the Year,” hipages Group said on social media.
“These achievements are a testament to their dedication and expertise in keeping our platforms safe every day.”
Cyber Professional of the Year – Technology, Media and Telecommunications was also won by a hipages employee.
“Winning both individual and team honours is a testament to the culture of excellence we’ve built at the hipages Group,” said Sharon-Zipser. “Our security team is at the forefront of tackling modern tech challenges, and these accolades recognise their tireless work in keeping our customers safe while we push the boundaries of AI.”
Other members of the Jewish community were among the finalists.
Jeremy Ungar, senior trade officer at the Israel Trade and Economic Commission, was a finalist for Cyber Professional of the Year – Government.
“In cyber security, it’s all about the people – it’s the technology that’s been developed by the people, for the people,” he said.
Other finalists included Omnicom’s market ISO lead for Australia Dan Goldberg for Cyber Consultant of the Year – Enterprise, and Hall and Wilcox head of cyber Eden Winokur – last year’s winner for Cyber Lawyer of the Year.
In the group section of the awards, MyRISK Management – whose founder and CEO is David Vohradsky – was one of 10 finalists for GRC Provider of the Year.
The awards, which are in their fourth year, identify and recognise high achievers and excellence in people and businesses in the cyber sector nationwide, rather than for products and platforms.
Spanning 33 individual and group categories, they celebrate the best and brightest in the field, and are open to all businesses operating in Australia that support the cyber supply chain.
Shane Desiatnik contributed to this report.
Paul Kallenbach accepts his award.