# Candan Bolukbas

> Candan Bolukbas is the co-founder and chief technology officer of Black Kite, a third-party cyber-risk company born from a pattern he saw while testing hardened government and military systems: suppliers could become stepping stones to the real target. A computer engineer, former government network and security administrator, ethical hacker and secure-programming educator, he now directs Black Kite’s technical vision and co-leads BK Labs, translating adversarial signals into transparent risk intelligence for enterprise teams.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Black Kite
- **Organizations:** Black Kite, NormShield, BK Labs, BGA Information Security & Consulting, Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, AK Yazilim
- **Education:** BS, Computer Engineering, Middle East Technical University, MS, Information Systems, Middle East Technical University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Black Kite in 2016 after identifying third-party suppliers as recurring routes into hardened target organizations., Co-invented a patented system and method for computation of ransomware susceptibility., Built a cybersecurity career spanning software development, government network administration, penetration testing, forensic analysis, incident handling and product engineering.

## Career timeline

- **2005-2008** — Co-founded software and consulting firm AK Yazilim.
- **2008-2010** — Worked in software development roles at Bil-Soft and NSTURK.
- **2010-2014** — Served in network, security and management roles for the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye.
- **2014-2016** — Managed enterprise security services at BGA Information Security & Consulting and delivered cybersecurity training.
- **2016** — Co-founded NormShield, the cyber-risk rating company later renamed Black Kite.
- **2021** — Black Kite announced a $22 million Series B financing round.
- **2022** — Named as a co-inventor on US Patent 11,509,682 for computation of ransomware susceptibility.
- **2024-2025** — Published articles on ransomware, AI for security, security teams, security by design and data quality.
- **2026** — Continued as Black Kite CTO and co-led BK Labs as its research program highlighted AI, ransomware, vulnerabilities and supply-chain risk.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Black Kite in 2016 after identifying third-party suppliers as recurring routes into hardened target organizations.
- Co-invented a patented system and method for computation of ransomware susceptibility.
- Built a cybersecurity career spanning software development, government network administration, penetration testing, forensic analysis, incident handling and product engineering.
- Earned technical certifications including CEH, LPT, CHFI, ECSP, ECIH, CCNA, CCNP and MCSA.
- Created public secure-programming samples demonstrating vulnerable and remediated implementations across common application-security flaws.
- Presented technical training and talks on subjects including Wireshark analysis, critical-infrastructure protection, CSIRT/SOC design and evasion techniques.

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Discussed AI-native third-party cyber-risk management, continuous vendor monitoring, secure access for AI agents and the growing role of financial-risk quantification in an interview with HiTechNectar.
- **2026-09** — Listed as co-leader of BK Labs, Black Kite’s research and innovation organization; its highlighted work includes ThreatTrace, the Black Kite AI Agent and Product Analysis.
- **2025-12** — Commented on Black Kite’s Product Analysis module, which evaluates risk at the individual software-product level.
- **2025-06** — Published The Bedrock of Effective TPRM? Quality Data and spoke publicly about persistent cyber conflict and supply-chain exposure.

## Links

- Website: https://blackkite.com/authors/candan-bolukbas
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candanbolukbas
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/candanbolukbas
- GitHub: https://github.com/candanbolukbas
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/candanbolukbas
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yusufcandan

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/candan-bolukbas
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27