Think you're safe from cyber crooks? Why 99% of companies are exposed

As AI supercharges cyber threats, how can the "missing 99%" of small and medium enterprises protect themselves?

Synopsis: On Wednesdays, The Straits Times takes a hard look at Singapore's social issues of the day with guests.

Cybersecurity is undergoing a fundamental shift. For a long time, it was treated as a dark art – a deeply technical problem left to IT teams and discussed in jargon few others understood. But as the threat landscape has evolved, major breaches are forcing the conversation into the boardroom, turning cyber risk into a critical matter of corporate governance and liability.

While multinational corporations can afford elite digital defences, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) – the 99 per cent of our economy – are often left exposed. Increasingly, SMEs are targeted not just for their own data, but as backdoors into the larger corporate and national networks they serve. If our current security playbook only works for the biggest players, how do we protect the rest?

In this episode, ST’s Deputy Opinion Editor Bhavan Jaipragas speaks with Gaurav Keerthi, co-founder and CEO of cybersecurity firm StrongKeep, and former Deputy Commissioner of the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore.

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:55 Why does cybersecurity switch people off?

5:06 Are boards stepping up to AI threats?

7:25 Why are SMEs still exposed to threats?

10:05 The "Ikea model" for affordable cybersecurity

15:45 Can state-linked cyber threats be solved?

25:12 Cyber risks and opportunities of agentic AI

28:27 Critical actions for boards, SMEs, and users.

31:41 Balancing online security and everyday usability

Read ST’s Opinion section: https://str.sg/w7sH

Host: Bhavan Jaipragas (bhavan@sph.com.sg)

Produced and edited by: Amirul Karim