Exclusive: BlackBerry Urges Australia to Strengthen Government Communications Amid Rising AI Threats for Enhanced Security.

A stark warning has been issued to Australian government agencies regarding the urgent need to secure their communications. David Wiseman, Vice President of Secure Communications at BlackBerry, highlighted the risks associated with the widespread use of consumer messaging apps in the public sector. He described this trend as a ticking time bomb, particularly as generative AI and foreign surveillance tactics become increasingly sophisticated. Wiseman emphasised that consumer applications, while adequate for ordinary business, are not suitable for government use due to the critical intersection of sovereignty, identity, and legal record-keeping requirements.

Wiseman pointed out that 73% of government agencies currently permit messaging apps, yet nearly half of these do not meet essential security or legal compliance standards. This includes significant failures in managing identity validation, classification, and the archival of sensitive information. He cited alarming incidents where foreign intelligence actors, including those linked to the Chinese government, intercepted phone calls and read text messages in real time. Furthermore, he warned of a rising trend in high-level impersonation attacks, where senior government officials’ accounts have been hijacked. With generative AI capable of cloning voices and faces, Wiseman stressed the urgent need for zero trust communication strategies. BlackBerry’s SecuSUITE aims to provide governments with total control over their communications networks, ensuring data sovereignty and compliance with legal obligations.