Third-party supply chain ecosystems, and the complexity that comes with them, have become just as much of an advantage for enterprises as they have a challenge. With organizations increasingly relying on vendors, cloud providers and open-source tools, threat actors are constantly finding new ways to compromise enterprises.
Gaurav Keerthi, CEO and founder of security start-up StrongKeep, said this threat landscape has led to what the World Economic Forum calls "cyber inequity," in which large enterprises remain well protected, while smaller ones lag behind in cyber readiness.
"Cybersecurity is unequally distributed. Big enterprises have a lot of it. Small enterprises have none of it. And to some extent, it's a little bit unfair, but they become the targets because the attackers are trying to get after your company through them," Keerthi said.
In this video interview with Information Security Media Group at the GovWare Conference and Exhibition 2025, Keerthi also discussed:
- Why governance and procurement controls can mitigate third-party risk;
- How resilience frameworks are expanding beyond tech;
- The importance of enterprise collaboration to strengthen cyber landscape.
Keerthi leads StrongKeep, a Singapore-based startup focused on simplifying cybersecurity for small businesses and charities. He is the former deputy commissioner of cybersecurity and deputy chief executive of the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore, where he shaped national regulations, participated as a cyber expert at the United Nations and secured the development of critical tools. Keerthi has also worked as the CIO of the Singapore Air Force, executive vice president at Ensign InfoSecurity, cyber advisor to Singapore's largest companies and an adjunct senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University's Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
