Only half of Nordic businesses say they are prepared to maintain operations during a crisis

What happens when a cyber-attack disrupts the digital services that businesses and societies depend on? For many Nordic organisations, the answer is far from clear.

In a survey conducted for Telenor’s Nordic Digital Security Report 2026, only half of the 2,427 business leaders surveyed across Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden say their organisation is well prepared to maintain critical operations during a serious digital disruption.

The findings come as Nordic societies face increasingly complex digital threats, from cyberattacks and sabotage to AI-enabled fraud and disruptions to critical infrastructure.

“Nordic societies now depend on reliable digital services for just about everything. It should concern all of us that only half of the business leaders surveyed say their organisations are prepared to keep critical operations running during a disruption. Preparedness cannot begin when a crisis hits,” says Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer, President and CEO of Telenor.

Phishing, stolen passwords, and software vulnerabilities are still common methods to gain access to organisations, according to Telenor’s security experts. What’s changing is the speed and scale of attacks due to advances in AI and automation. And when businesses and essential services rely on the same digital infrastructure, the damage isn’t always limited to the organization initially attacked.

This is putting businesses’ ability to respond to the test. Only 12% of Nordic survey respondents say their organisation is fully prepared to detect and react to AI-enabled cyber threats, and just 36% expect to increase their investment in cybersecurity and digital resilience.

As a provider of critical communications infrastructure, Telenor recognises its own responsibility to strengthen resilience and work with customers, suppliers, and authorities to prepare for serious disruptions.

As digital sovereignty and control become increasingly important, closer cooperation between Nordic governments is also essential to strengthening preparedness. Telenor is calling on them to identify critical dependencies, establish clear expectations for the continuity of essential services, and coordinate preparedness and joint exercises across sectors and borders.

“The Nordics share infrastructure, suppliers, and many of the same vulnerabilities. But our preparedness is still mostly a national matter. We need to come together to agree which services society cannot afford to lose, what it takes to protect them, and how we can share that responsibility. The Nordic cooperation we envision means being ready to support each other when crisis strikes,” says Fasmer.

Telenor’s Nordic Digital Security Report 2026 combines insights from security experts across the Nordics with a survey of 2,427 business leaders and decisionmakers in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. It covers the evolving threat picture, digital resilience, sovereignty, and the measures needed to keep essential services running during a crisis.

Read the full report here.