Blue screens, natural disasters and cyberattacks – is Malaysia well-prepared for a crisis?

• BlackBerry AtHoc offers complete control over system configuration 
• Serves over 2000 organisations worldwide, 70% of US govt agencies

When a ransomware attack last August caused the Port of Seattle in Washington to begin experiencing outages that went on for over a month, it wasn't just another headline—it was a stark reminder of how vulnerable our critical infrastructure has become. For Malaysian organizations, these cybersecurity threats loom equally large, with critical services across healthcare, transportation, and critical infrastructure facing similar risks daily. 

The growing sophistication of cyber attacks, combined with an increasingly connected digital ecosystem, means that no sector is immune. In 2024, the average total cost of data breaches was $4.88 million. Breaches in the healthcare industry were the costliest, averaging $9.77 million.

The question for Malaysian businesses and government agencies isn't whether they'll face a crisis - but how prepared they'll be when it happens.

The rising stakes of crisis management

The threat landscape is made up of three distinct categories that organisations must prepare for:

• Natural events such as extreme weather that cause power outages
• Human-made incidents, including terror attacks and traffic accidents
• Critical incidents like cybersecurity attacks and supply chain disruptions

These threats are particularly challenging because their impacts can cascade across interconnected systems. The worldwide "blue screen" outage earlier this year demonstrated this perfectly - what began as a technical disruption quickly evolved into a crisis of communication and business continuity.

Even organisations with basic emergency protocols in Malaysia struggled to coordinate their response effectively in the aftermath of the incident. 

The actual cost of unpreparedness

When organisations lack proper crisis management systems, the consequences extend beyond immediate disruption - including financial impact and staff or citizen safety. According to IBM and the Ponemon Institute, a US-based centre that focuses on data privacy and security, the financial impact alone is staggering:

• Data breaches now cost organisations an average of US$4.2 million - the highest in recorded history
• Safety incidents typically result in losses of US$1.8 million
• Extreme weather events lead to damages averaging US$1.3 million
• For tech and telecom companies, every minute of IT downtime costs approximately US$9,000

But these direct costs tell only part of the story. Organisations also face:

• Severe productivity losses as systems remain offline
• Major supply chain interruptions 
• Declining employee morale due to uncertainty and poor communication
• Increased operational costs from emergency measures
• Potential staff displacement during extended disruptions
• Reputational damage that can impact long-term business relationships

With security breaches in enterprise organisations increasing by 27.4%, traditional approaches to crisis management are no longer sufficient. This reality is driving organisations to seek more comprehensive solutions.

Understanding critical event management

To effectively manage these growing threats, organisations need to master three fundamental areas that form the foundation of proper crisis management:

• Communication: In today's digital age, simply sending messages isn't enough. Organisations must ensure their entire employee population receives, understands, and can act on critical information when every minute counts.
• Awareness: Organisations can't make informed decisions about safety measures or business continuity without a real-time understanding of employee status and actions. This visibility becomes crucial during rapidly evolving situations.
• Continuity: When normal operations are disrupted, organisations need a coordinated approach to managing people, information, and response plans. This coordination directly impacts how quickly they can restore normal operations.

Common organisational challenges

Yet, organizations that understand these fundamentals often struggle to implement them effectively when crisis strikes. Their existing systems and processes typically reveal critical gaps during these periods:

Information management 

During a crisis, organizations often find themselves making critical decisions without complete information. For instance, during a factory fire, safety teams might lack real-time floor plans showing current occupancy. 

During IT outages, technical teams might struggle to access updated system documentation stored on now-inaccessible servers. Most critically, during evacuations, emergency response teams often can't quickly determine which employees are actually on-site versus working remotely.

AtHoc helps decision-makers to provide and receive time-sensitive updates in a manner that integrates neatly with standard operating procedures (SOPs). These are often in the format of a booklet of A4 paper, but by using AtHoc to fully automate your response in a time of crisis, decisions and actions are taken faster - minimising downtime, financial impact and potentially saving lives.

Technical Infrastructure 

The technology meant to support crisis response often becomes part of the problem. Organizations frequently rely on multiple disconnected systems cobbled together over time - perhaps an old SMS alert system alongside newer digital tools, creating confusion about which system to use. Security becomes another major concern, particularly when staff resort to consumer messaging apps like WhatsApp. 

While WhatsApp offers basic encryption, its self-registration nature makes it vulnerable to identity spoofing and unauthorized access. According to BlackBerry's January 2025 Threat Report, these open platforms lack crucial features needed for crisis communication: government security certifications, proper records retention, and sovereign control over organizational communications.

Communication coordination 

Even when information is available, getting it to the right people at the right time remains challenging. Consider a scenario where different departments use separate communication channels - IT uses an internal messaging system, facilities use radio communications, and management relies on email. 

This fragmentation means critical updates might reach some teams hours before others, leading to uncoordinated responses and potentially worsening the crisis.

The BlackBerry® AtHoc solution®

In response to these critical challenges, BlackBerry® AtHoc® delivers a unified solution that transforms how organisations handle crisis events. At its core, the platform integrates five essential capabilities to ensure comprehensive crisis management.

The foundation starts with AtHoc's advanced alert system, which ensures critical information reaches all stakeholders through multiple communication channels. The platform doesn't just send messages – it tracks delivery, confirms receipt, and supports multiple languages and communication preferences through customisable templates for various scenarios.

AtHoc provides real-time personnel visibility through its Account feature, building on this communication backbone. Organisations can instantly track employee safety and availability, visualise team locations geographically, and quickly identify at-risk personnel who need immediate assistance. 

This capability proves invaluable during emergencies when accounting for staff becomes critical. The platform's Collect feature strengthens situational awareness by gathering intelligence directly from the field. Teams can submit real-time reports integrating with existing monitoring systems through mobile-friendly interfaces, ensuring decision-makers have accurate, up-to-date information at their fingertips.

With AtHoc's Connect capability, cross-organisational communication also becomes seamless. Organisations can securely share information between departments and external partners while maintaining detailed audit trails of all communications and decisions. This proves particularly valuable during large-scale incidents requiring multi-agency coordination.

AtHoc's Situation Response system ties everything together, providing centralised command and control through pre-built and customisable response plans. Automated workflows and real-time collaboration tools ensure crisis teams can coordinate effectively and respond swiftly to evolving situations.

Organisations can deploy BlackBerry AtHoc in ways that best suit their needs. The standalone platform offers complete control over system configuration with deep integration capabilities and flexible deployment options, whether on-premises or in the cloud. Alternatively, the managed service option provides rapid deployment within two working days, complete with pre-configured templates and 24/7 global operational support.

Security remains paramount throughout, with AtHoc built on enterprise-grade foundations, including end-to-end encryption and role-based access control. The platform maintains compliance with major international standards while supporting Malaysia's Act 854 requirements, backed by regular security audits and updates.  

In the United States, BlackBery AtHoc is the only Critical Event Management (CEM) platform that is both FedRAMP and StateRAMP certified. It is used for the US Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Integrated Public Alert and Warning System and also Canada’s National Public Alerting System (NAAD).

Proven track record and global reach

BlackBerry AtHoc's effectiveness is demonstrated by its widespread adoption among organisations requiring the highest security and reliability levels. The platform serves over 2,000 organisations worldwide, including 70% of US Federal Government agencies. 

Notable implementations include the Greater Manchester Police and various defence organisations, showcasing its versatility across different sectors and use cases.

Malaysia's preparedness journey

The imperative to strengthen crisis preparedness has never been more important for Malaysian organisations. Recent incidents affecting critical infrastructure and public services have highlighted the need for robust CEM (Critical Event Management) systems. 

BlackBerry AtHoc's presence in Malaysia, backed by 24/7 global operational support, helps organisations to protect their people better and ensure business continuity during planned and unplanned events.

The system's capabilities align perfectly with Malaysian organisations' compliance requirements for Cybersecurity Act 854, while maintaining operational resilience in the face of evolving threats. Whether facing natural disasters, cyber-attacks, or other critical incidents, organisations need a proven solution that can help them communicate effectively, maintain awareness and ensure continuity.

In today's increasingly complex risk landscape, the question isn't whether a crisis will occur, but when. The organisations that survive and thrive will have invested in the right tools and systems to manage critical events effectively.