A Norwegian government committee has recommended that the state look at developing alternative infrastructure to Telenor's fixed network, in order to ensure service continuity in the event of problems with the infrastructure. A report by the Vulnerability Committee commissioned by the government in 2014 found that while Telenor's network is well developed and operated, the country needs to protect against any disruptions to its service due to human error, routine failure, sabotage or terrorism. Given the "unacceptably high" dependence of society on the telecom infrastructure, the committee recommended that at least one other player have a nationwide core network at the same level as Telenor.
In its report handed over to the justice ministry, the committee also recommended against any regulation or prohibition of encryption technologies in Norway and said the country should work towards preventing this at the international level as well. Such restrictions will not substantially prevent the use of encryption for illegal purposes, and as such provide no relief for law enforcement services, the report found.
The report commissioned in 2014 maps society's digital vulnerability and proposes a range of measures to improve preparedness and reduce the vulnerability of digital society. Issues covered include electronic communications, satellite services, energy, oil and gas, water supply, financial services, healthcare, transport, skills, common functions, management and crisis management and ways to uncover and deal with cyber attacks.
