Telenor CEO Sigve Brekke used its Q1 results statement to highlight what he described as a serious social problem of cyberattacks, with his company blocking more than 500 million attempts on customers in Norway during the quarter.

The executive noted its figures showed an increase of almost 70 per cent in attack attempts on customers compared to Q4, with the appetite for security products increasing.  

“The significant scale of these attacks tells us this is a serious social problem,” Brekke said. “The attacks are carried out by well-organised criminal networks, and new technology makes it increasingly easier to mass-produce various forms of attacks.”

He added the company was continuing to develop its product range in this area to address growing customer demand for protection.

AI drive
Away from security, Brekke indicated the company was pushing-on with its AI drive, having inked a wide-ranging deal with Nvidia to boost its use of the technology and develop commercial offerings during MWC24 in February.

Telenor already uses AI for network optimisation and customer services, Brekke noted, adding at “the speed at which AI develops, you risk being outdated tomorrow if you don’t act now”.

As a result of the tie-up with Nvidia, he noted an aim to accelerate AI in the Nordic region and plans to integrate the technology “into all aspects of our business, from the workplace and the value chain to the customer experiences”.

In terms of the numbers, Brekke described Telenor’s Q1 performance as “solid”. It booked revenue up 2 per cent organically to NOK19.5 billion ($1.8 billion).

Net profit was NOK11.6 billion, down from NOK18.1 billion in the same quarter of last year, though the latter figure was impacted by a significant gain from the merger of its operation in Thailand.