Stewart Stacey has an extensive CV. He took a scholarship with the Department of Defence instead of finishing year 12, spent a number of years with government in "pseudo IT guy" roles, including at ATSIC, which prior to abolition, was the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Commission.
Stacey then opened Darwin's first internet cafes and started his own internet company, Territory Internet Services. At the same time, he consulted with the Northern Territory government, acting as a "drop in IT manager" at multiple agencies.
He was then appointed to lead the build of the United Nations (UN) network in Darwin, which Stacey described as a fairly large network across five different buildings. The project began after the East Timorese voted for independence in 1999 and the subsequent retaliation from Indonesia-aligned militia, with Stacey heading over to Dili while Australian troops were still on the ground to perform work for NGOs, like the World Health Organization, World Food Program, and the UN directly.
Following further Defence contracting, including with the Royal Australian Air Force, securing Darwin's Apple Store as a client for a new IT venture, and returning from the United States for a role as an IT manager at a gym, Stacey did a stint in mining, where he was responsible for the build of a AU$6 million optic fibre network in the NT for the territory's electricity generator.
He told ZDNet this also included the build of two data centres.
In 2017, Stacey decided it was time to launch Binary Security.
He said his experience left him capable of not only "all things IT" but also gave him the skills to run the operational and business side of tech. But to him, starting up Binary Security was about much more.
"Through dealing with