Black Kite
About The Black Kite
Industry
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Black Kite, formerly known as NormShield, is a cybersecurity company specializing in third-party risk management. Founded in 2016 by Candan Bolukbas, a former Certified Ethical Hacker for NATO, the company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
The company offers a comprehensive platform that provides full visibility into a vendor's cyber position. It utilizes open-source intelligence tools and techniques to continuously collect data from various sources.
These sources include internet-wide scanners, reputation sites, cyber events, hacker shares, and known vulnerability databases.
Platform Capabilities
Black Kite's platform assesses third-party cyber risk across three critical dimensions:
- Technical
- Financial
- Compliance
It offers risk quantification, technical cyber ratings, and compliance correlations. This enables organizations to monitor cyber risks and increase awareness of third-party vulnerabilities.
Growth and Funding
The company has experienced significant growth, doubling its customer base and employee headcount over the past year. In October 2021, Black Kite raised $22 million in a Series B funding round led by Volition Capital.
Existing investors involved include Moore Strategic Ventures, LLC (MSV), Glasswing Ventures, and Data Point Capital.
Platform Reach and Insights
Black Kite's platform provides visibility into over 34 million companies. It covers 20+ risk categories and 290 controls, delivering insights into data breaches, ransomware attacks, geopolitical incidents, and software vulnerabilities of vendors.
Industries and Key Customers
The company serves a diverse range of industries, including:
- Financial services
- Manufacturing
- Healthcare
- Retail
- Technology
Noteworthy clients include IBM, BlueCross BlueShield, Markel, LinkedIn, Levi’s, and H&R Block.
Locations
In addition to its Boston headquarters, Black Kite has expanded its operations to include a technical team in Turkey, reflecting its commitment to global reach and expertise.
Locations:
- Boston, MA, USA (Headquarters)
- Turkey (Technical Team)
Mission
Black Kite's mission is to improve the health and safety of the global cyber ecosystem. This is achieved by providing accurate and comprehensive cyber intelligence.
The platform empowers organizations to make informed risk decisions and enhance their cyber resilience.