Vodafone Focuses on AI, Security

Vodafone is shifting its focus towards providing AI and cybersecurity solutions to businesses, signalling a strategic pivot after divesting some of its European assets. The company aims to leverage emerging technologies, including generative AI, while also tackling the risks they generate. Vodafone is strengthening identity protection, access control, and authentication controls while implementing a new adaptive cyber risk methodology.

To enhance its cybersecurity capabilities, Vodafone is developing a cloud-native security service for its business customers, utilising Google Cloud's Security Operations platform. This platform provides security incident and event management, as well as software-based protection tools, enabling real-time responses to cyber threats. Vodafone also intends to offer Google One AI Premium subscription plans, including Gemini Advanced, in select territories by 2025. The company is also prioritising the end-to-end security of its telecommunications network and developing a new security operations platform.

Vodafone is also collaborating with IBM to develop a risk-based approach to post-quantum safe cryptography. This involves identifying potential quantum vulnerabilities, defining supplier requirements, and developing a risk-based model to update its cryptography. Vodafone's in-house global cyber security capability, underpinned by around 900 employees, handles trillions of events and logs from sensors across all the countries in which it operates, detecting potential threats and events.