Transforming offensive cyber expertise into a mission to protect millions—meet Kyle Hanslovan, CEO of Huntress.
Kyle Hanslovan is the CEO and Co-founder of Huntress, where he spearheads efforts to protect over 150,000 businesses and millions of employees by rethinking threat detection and response at scale. An ethical hacker and malware connoisseur, Kyle isn't afraid to challenge the status quo to disrupt herd mentality in the cybersecurity industry. He has successfully raised over $350 million in venture capital and is passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation, radical candor, and social impact.
Kyle's journey into cybersecurity began as a curious kid in the 1990s, exploring the early internet on dial-up connections. Entranced by the online world, he started pirating video games, designing websites, and dabbling in AOL hacking techniques. An encounter with malware—resulting in the dreaded Windows blue screen of death—transformed his panic into curiosity as he learned to recover data and perform file system forensics.
At 17, Kyle enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, aiming to use his hacking skills for good. As a young cyber warfare operator, he worked in Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs), mastering the art of breaking into systems efficiently and covering his digital tracks. "If you mess up your job in a counterterrorism mission, somebody could lose their life," he recalls. High stakes work, indeed.
After a decade supporting offensive cyber operations in the U.S. Intelligence Community and Air Force, Kyle transitioned to the private sector. As a ManTech International contractor, he led Computer Network Operations (CNO) development, analysis, and testing to support the National Security Agency (NSA) and later served as the co-founder of StrategicIO, a boutique offensive cybersecurity consulting firm.
Recognizing a critical need to protect small businesses and mid-market enterprises from cyber threats, Kyle co-founded Huntress Labs in 2015 alongside John Ferrell and Chris Bisnett. Leveraging his background in offensive cyber operations, he understood how attackers maintain persistent footholds that often go undetected by traditional security solutions. Huntress was born to address this gap, offering managed endpoint detection and response (EDR) tailored for SMBs.
Under Kyle's leadership, Huntress has experienced rapid growth:
Kyle's commitment to innovation and protecting businesses has not gone unnoticed—he recently won Ernst & Young LLP's (EY's) 2024 Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award for the Mid-Atlantic.
When he's not leading Huntress, Kyle enjoys participating in hacker capture-the-flag events and sharing his expertise at major cybersecurity conferences.
Check out Kyle’s profile on LinkedIn and be sure to check out his personal site at https://www.kylehanslovan.com/.
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