When you really think about how its supply chain works, it's a feeding ground for cybercriminals

with small businesses who aren't protected. And not only can it take out the small businesses,

it can actually compromise the data of large enterprises as well. In 2003, in Southeast Asia,

there was about $18 to $37 billion lost for small business owners through fraud and scam.

What our research shows is that about one in four businesses have been attacked.

So this is a really serious issue for all business owners around the world.

I'm J.J. Ramberg, and this is Local to Global, the Power of Small Business, a podcast from

GZero Media's Blue Circle Studios, produced in partnership with MasterCard. In our previous three episodes,

we looked at different aspects of small business growth around the globe, all fueled by a rising middle class.

And along the way, we've seen the many ways that local solutions and opportunities can be

shaped by global forces. We wrap up the series today with the incredible growth of small businesses

in Southeast Asia and the risks, particularly cybersecurity risks that those businesses face.

Our focus is on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, a regional block that includes

Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and several of their neighbors.

Together, ASEAN represents more than 670 million people, and it's on track to become one of the world's four largest economies.

But underneath all that growth is a massive vulnerability.

As more commerce moves online, the potential pool of targets for cyber criminals grows larger as well. And at the

same time, smaller firms usually have far fewer defenses against such attacks than larger organizations.

In fact, recent research across Asia Pacific shows that most SMEs have already experienced at least

one cyber incident in the past year.

And only about two-thirds of small firms in ASEAN have adopted basic cybersecurity software.

The good news is that this is starting to change, thanks to a series of collaborative initiatives.

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