Pi Hediyem Var! #11

Mert SARICA

Mert is a well-known and respected Cyber Security Researcher, Speaker and Blogger. He has been living and pursuing his career in the United States with an Alien of Extraordinary Ability visa (EB-1A), an employment-based green card, since October 2022.

As of February 2023, Mert has been working at SOCRadar® Extended Threat Intelligence as the Head of Strategy. SOCRadar is a cybersecurity company committed to democratizing threat intelligence and providing superior cybersecurity solutions to thousands of companies in hundreds of countries. SOCRadar's mission is to provide organizations of all sizes with the tools to counter cyber threats.

In his current position, Mert has been advising the CEO on strategic plans and strategic decisions that align with the company’s mission, objectives and also ensuring that strategic initiatives align with the company’s overall goals.

In addition, he has been driving innovation across the product by promoting new ideas and features and also overseeing the execution of strategic initiatives, often by working closely with various departments such as product development, sales, and marketing.

Besides that, he has been leading, mentoring, and supporting a cadre of threat researchers who conduct in-depth research on cyber threats, vulnerabilities, trends and also overseeing the day-to-day operations of Security Analyst and Support teams to ensure efficiency, quality, service, and cost-effective management of resources.

From October 2020 to September 2022, Mert demonstrated his expertise as an Executive Vice President / CISO of IT Security & Risk Management Group which incorporates Cyber Defense Center, Cyber Security Technologies, Cyber Security Architecture, Information Security & Risk Management teams (40 HCs) at Intertech. Intertech is an Information Technology subsidiary of DenizBank, owned by Emirates NBD

From January 2018 to September 2020 as the Vice President, Mert was responsible for the management of Akbank's Cyber Defence Center (CDC) which incorporates Vulnerability Management, Threat Detection, Threat Response & Intel, and Security Engineering teams. (26 HCs)

From 2007 to 2017 Mert was responsible for performing and managing penetration tests, malware analysis, security incident detection, and response as a Technical Lead in the Threat & Vulnerability Management team at IBTech. (Information Technology subsidiary of QNB Finansbank)

From 2014 – 2016 Mert instructed Malware Analysis course in Cyber Security Graduate Program at Bahcesehir University.

In 2003 Mert’s career journey began by discovering a security vulnerability on the e-portal web application of the Yeditepe University where he was studying at that time. After sharing his findings with the executives of the university, he was awarded an achievement grant and recruited as an Ethical Hacker. Mert graduated from Yeditepe University, Information Systems and Technologies in 2006 and Yeditepe University, Master of Business Administration program in 2010.

From the beginning of 2011, Mert spoke at more than 30 technical cyber security conferences. In addition, he was invited as a guest speaker to more than 40 universities to share his cyber security career journey and his profession “Ethical Hacker” to the students as a role model.