Promoting and enhancing cybersecurity among small and medium-sized enterprises for the sustainable development: trends and best practices

Kaspersky

Session 206

Tuesday, 7 July 2026 ∼ 16:00–16:45 (UTC+02:00) Physical (on-site) and Virtual (remote) participation Room H2, ITU Montbrillant Building Interactive Session

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in facilitating sustainable development in multiple ways – from serving the daily needs of consumers to being important links in critical supply chains.

At the same time such businesses are highly susceptible to cyberthreats, as cyberattackers often view small and medium-sized enterprises as easier targets, assuming their security measures are less robust than those of larger enterprises.

In this regard, promoting and enhancing cyber resilience of SMEs should be considered as a matter of paramount importance which requires collaborative efforts involving public sector, technology vendors, industry associations, as well as small- and medium-sized businesses themselves.

The session aims to raise awareness of the issue, outline current trends, share experiences from existing initiatives and partnerships, as well as discuss new approaches for joint measures at local, regional and global level. It will bring together policymakers, cybersecurity and industry experts to discuss existing cyberthreats to SMEs, as well as effective approaches to enhancing cyber resilience of small and medium business. The format will combine a panel discussion with a roundtable exchange to share best practices, explore models of multistakeholder cooperation, and gather feedback from participants.

The discussion will focus on the following key themes:

- Cyberthreat landscape for SMEs

- Cooperation between public and private stakeholders in promoting cybersecurity for SMEs

- Best practices of promoting cyber resilience among SMEs.

Mr. Sergey Lozhkin Head of Research Center, APAC & META Kaspersky (Russia)

For seven years, Sergey was a senior security researcher in the Kaspersky Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT), where he researched and published on financial threats, like Carbanak, Silence and Digital Doppelgangers. He also analyzed many nation-state advanced persistent threat (APT) samples. Based on this experience, Sergey created malware reverse engineering courses that teach the most effective methods for analyzing top malware threats. He’s trained beginner and experienced malware analysts, SOC analysts in various private and government organizations around the world as well as law enforcement officers. His cybersecurity research focuses on topics related to investigating and reverse engineering advanced persistent and financial threats.

Between 2019 and 2021, Sergey worked at JPMorgan Chase as a VP Cybersecurity Operations. In 2022, he returned to Kaspersky GReAT as a lead security researcher and later became the Head of Global Research & Analysis Team in META and APAC regions.

Mr. Charles Odii Director-General and Chief Executive Officer The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN)

Charles Odii is a renowned author, entrepreneurship development expert, and small business advocate. As the current Chief Executive Officer/Director General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), his role involves stimulating, monitoring, and coordinating the development of Nigeria's SME sector, which comprises approximately forty million SMEs. He also initiates and articulates policies for SME growth and development.

Since his assumption as the CEO of SMEDAN on October 13, 2023, Charles Odii has led impactful initiatives, resulting in the creation of over 120,000 direct and indirect jobs and the facilitation of over 12 billion naira in funding for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). These efforts have driven rural industrialization, poverty alleviation, and livelihood enhancement in Nigeria.

Charles is an alumnus of the US State Department, International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) on global business Development. He is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Management and the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria. Charles is a certified Business Development Service Provider, a mentor for the United States Young African Leaders’ Initiative and an entrepreneurial Coach.

Charles is also passionate about women entrepreneurship development and was listed in the 2024 Exquisite Magazine 50 Power People who embody resilience, leadership & advocacy for women empowerment and inclusion in Africa. He obtained a Master's degree from the Pan Atlantic University and a Bachelor’s degree in Management and Information systems from Covenant University.

In February 2024, he recieved The Sun Public Service Award for the year 2023, due to his outstanding contributions to SME development in Nigeria as the DG/CEO of SMEDAN. The Sun is one of Nigeria’s most prominent media organizations. He was also awarded the Public Sector CEO of the Year 2024 Award by The Independent Newspapers, Nigeria’s most read newspaper among the political and business elite.

Topics

Capacity Building Cybersecurity Digital Skills Digital Transformation

WSIS Action Lines

C1. The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development
C4. Capacity building
C5. Building confidence and security in use of ICTs

C1:

C4:

C5:

Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Goal 8:

Goal 9:

GDC Objectives

Objective 1: Close all digital divides and accelerate progress across the Sustainable Development Goals
Objective 2: Expand inclusion in and benefits from the digital economy for all