Communication During Emergencies Now More Secure

Communication During Emergencies Now More Secure

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161013-N-IU636-105 HONOLULU (Oct. 13, 2016) A photo illustration depicts the Text-to-911 service available throughout the islands of Hawaii. Text-to-911 is an emergency service that is provided to all mobile users in the State of Hawaii. Text-to-911 allows someone to use their activated cell phone to contact the 911 center via text message instead of calling 911. 911 services for military installations will be processed at the Regional Dispatch Center. (U.S. Navy Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Johans Chavarro/Released)

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Better cybersecurity for communication during emergencies. New technology advancements to BlackBerry AtHoc mobile app will improve how U.S. federal agencies communicate and collaborate during times of crisis, and reduce the risk of unauthorized access to federal data, systems and applications. 

A recent report found that 67% of breaches are caused by credential theft and social engineering attacks that capitalized on moments in time like COVID-19.  To protect Federal employees, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) mandates all Federal departments use Derived Credentials (an alternative token to create multi-factor authentication with a mobile device) for identity proofing on mobile devices. 

Support for Derived Credentials within the AtHoc mobile app will allow Federal customers to ensure authentication and authorization to sensitive data when using the app for instant messaging, sending or responding to notifications, according to the company.

BlackBerry AtHoc, the first Emergency Mass Notification System (EMNS) to achieve FedRAMP (Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program) authorization is now the first to support Derived Credentials for identity authentication on a mobile device. In addition, BlackBerry has added AWS GovCloud to its cloud infrastructure, making BlackBerry AtHoc services the most widely available EMNS solution to the federal government. 

BlackBerry AtHoc is trusted by government, military, commercial and humanitarian organizations around the world.