KUALA LUMPUR – While consumer-grade messaging apps are commonly and suitably used by the public are convenient for everyday conversations, they were not built for official government communications – especially in the case of handling of sensitive information and continuing to rely on them presents significant national security risks, warned BlackBerry’s senior director for strategic technical solutions in Asia Pacific, Jonathan Jackson.
“These platforms are designed for consumers,” Jackson told Scoop in an interview.
“They don’t offer cryptographic identity, no metadata protection, can’t assure data sovereignty and data control, and have no governance.”
Jackson said Malaysia is leading the charge in Asean in terms of taking proactive steps to address this issue, notably through the National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), which are spearheading efforts to roll out secure government communications systems.
His remarks follow a string of reported incidents in which civil servants and politicians in the region, and around the world, were publicly exposed after using insecure consumer apps for sensitive official business.
“End-to-end encryption alone doesn’t make something secure. If you don’t know who’s on the other end, your data can be intercepted or manipulated,” he added.
A sovereign, secure platform
In late 2023, Malaysia signed a landmark software and services agreement with BlackBerry, in cooperation with the Government of Canada, in an effort to bolster both cyber-resilience and capacity-building. This included secure access to BlackBerry’s secure communications solutions, such as SecuSUITE – a military-grade secure voice, video, messaging and file-sharing system used by NATO, Canada, Germany and other governments to protect classified communications.
The system is hosted entirely in Malaysia. It does not use foreign cloud infrastructure, third-party commercial providers or open platforms.
“SecuSUITE is deployed on-premise or in a sovereign cloud environment.
“BlackBerry does not host, manage, access or monitor any data. It is invisible to us,” Jackson, who has over two decades of experience advising governments and critical infrastructure sectors across Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, explained.
He also added that access to the system is invitation-only and based on strict identity verification using cryptographic credentials – meaning it constantly authenticates who you are communicating with. Certified to “Top Secret” classification, it is designed to prevent impersonation, account spoofing, unauthorised infiltration of official channels and human error, such as adding the wrong person to your chat group.
The platform rollout is led by Nacsa, while MCMC is tasked with technical coordination, training, and support. Both agencies began onboarding approved users in early 2024.
According to Jackson, government departments interested in adopting the secure platform may check eligibility via Nacsa or contact MCMC. A 24/7 Bahasa Malaysia helpdesk has been set up to support users nationwide.
MCMC is also a key partner in Malaysia’s wider digital sovereignty agenda. Besides deployment, the commission is co-implementing cyber hygiene training and capacity-building programmes across the public sector to ensure proper usage and protection of secured systems. This includes its collaboration with BlackBerry to run world-class cybersecurity training courses at the Malaysia Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence, including recently expanded self-paced learning for civil servants.
Communications during crisis
In addition to secure messaging, Malaysia is also deploying BlackBerry AtHoc, a real-time crisis communication and emergency management system, to support disaster preparedness and national security operations.
“AtHoc is being implemented by NACSA with support from MCMC and local partners, and is being used for all kinds of challenges – from securely sharing cyber threat intelligence and managing high security events to preparing for inter-agency response to natural disasters.”
Used by multiple Canadian agencies, including for national emergency alerting, as well as other global governments, emergency services and sectors such as oil and gas, AtHoc is designed to coordinate secure alerts, real-time updates, and mission-critical instructions during emergencies – including natural disasters, security breaches, or major public safety incidents.
The platform allows authorised officials to issue targeted alerts based on location, department or role, through multiple channels including secured mobile devices, email, SMS, desktop pop-ups, and digital signage.
Unlike conventional public broadcast tools, AtHoc supports two-way messaging, enabling field personnel to confirm receipt, provide situational updates, or request assistance. It is used extensively by police forces around the world, like the Manchester City Police, for responding to incidents and coordinating with emergency services. It enables responders to automatically receive secure, location-specific intelligence where a reported issue or incident is taking place when they enter a geofenced area.
“The need for a secure, integrated response system becomes clear during events like floods or cyberattacks,” Jackson said.
“This isn’t just about emergency alerts. It’s about coordinated command and control – ensuring the right people receive the right information, at the right time, securely.” – July 27, 2025