Report Warns of Rising Cyberattack and Disinformation Threats in Nordic Countries

Nordic nations face a new era of security challenges that demand unified action, according to Telenor’s latest annual security report. The telecommunications giant is urging governments and industries across the region to adopt a more coordinated approach to counter increasingly sophisticated threats to critical infrastructure and services.

The report paints a concerning picture of a complex threat landscape where crises can rapidly escalate across sectors and national borders, putting the region’s digital foundations at risk.

“We are facing a security situation where a crisis can start anywhere and spread everywhere – across sectors, countries and regions,” said Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer, President and CEO of Telenor. “The strength of the Nordic model lies in trust, close cooperation, and robust digital infrastructure. But to remain resilient, we must connect these strengths across borders.”

Telenor, a major telecommunications provider across the Nordic region, has identified six primary threat categories that will shape the security landscape in 2025: destructive cyberattacks, sabotage of physical and digital infrastructure, foreign influence operations and disinformation campaigns, intelligence operations targeting critical infrastructure, organized digital financial crime, and advanced online fraud.

These threats aren’t theoretical concerns for the future but present challenges that telecommunications operators and critical infrastructure providers must address daily, according to Fasmer.

The report highlights how the nature of security risks is evolving in several key ways. Hybrid threats—combining cyberattacks, physical sabotage, and disinformation—are becoming increasingly common, making it difficult to distinguish between accidents and deliberate attacks. This blurring creates challenges for response teams and security professionals.

Critical infrastructure has also emerged as a strategic battleground. Subsea communications cables, mobile networks, and cloud infrastructure now underpin everything from national defense systems to economic stability, making them prime targets for malicious actors.

Recent events have demonstrated the fragility of interconnected systems. Telenor points to Storm Amy as a real-world example of how weather-related disruptions can rapidly cascade when power supplies are compromised, affecting communication networks and other essential services.

Data sovereignty is another pressing concern identified in the report. Questions about where data is stored and who governs it are driving governments and organizations to invest in regionally controlled cloud solutions for sensitive information, balancing security needs with operational requirements.

Sigvart Voss Eriksen, Executive Vice President and Head of Telenor Nordics, emphasized that building resilience requires sustained effort and investment. “It requires long-term investment, preparedness and coordination between governments and industry,” he noted. “The Nordic countries already have strong national security and preparedness systems, but a crisis doesn’t care about borders. To protect our critical functions, we must act as a region.”

The report concludes with a five-point call to action for Nordic governments and industry stakeholders. These recommendations include making resilience a shared regional priority, aligning regulatory frameworks across borders, strengthening cross-border information sharing, building redundancy into critical infrastructure systems, and conducting joint exercises to test regional preparedness.

The timing of this report is significant as Nordic countries continue to strengthen their security posture amid growing geopolitical tensions in the region. Finland and Sweden’s recent NATO membership applications reflect the changing security calculus, while increased incidents of subsea cable disruptions have raised concerns about vulnerable infrastructure.

As digital and physical systems become increasingly intertwined, the report underscores that traditional approaches to security—focusing on individual sectors or national boundaries—may no longer be sufficient to address the complex, interconnected threats facing the Nordic region today.