Digital security: the Assembly strengthens the legal framework against cyber threats
The National Assembly adopted on Thursday bill n°25/2026 relating to the protection of critical information infrastructures and digital security, a text intended to strengthen the national cybersecurity system.
The new legislation notably allows the competent authorities to impose, in certain sectors or on certain categories of particularly exposed actors, the taking out of insurance against cyberattacks when the risk of significant damage is high.
It also provides that the storage of data on the national territory is ensured by public infrastructures belonging to the State and by approved private providers. The National Cybersecurity Authority will have to define the standards necessary for the approval of private cloud service providers.
Exemptions may, however, allow, exceptionally, the hosting or processing of certain data abroad, taking into account Senegal’s technological dependence.
The text also enshrines the general principle of cybersecurity and provides for the development of technical benchmarks and standards governing in particular the use of new technologies and artificial intelligence.
According to the Minister of Telecommunications and Digital Affairs, Samba Diouf, this reform aims to adapt the legal framework to new threats in cyberspace, including terrorism, espionage, computer hacking and risks linked to human errors.
He also underlined that the bill intends to promote strategic autonomy and digital sovereignty, in accordance with the guidelines of the National Transformation Agenda “Senegal 2050”, by entrusting certain essential cybersecurity services to approved service providers.
This orientation should contribute, according to him, to structuring a real cybersecurity economy around trusted national players.
Speaking during the debates, MP El Malick Ndiaye, for his part, called for strengthening the security of personal and professional equipment, in particular mobile phones and computers, likely to provide access to sensitive data in the event of loss, theft or compromise.
The bill thus complements the Senegalese legal system already devoted to digital trust, cryptography, the protection of sensitive state information, electronic communications and transactions as well as the fight against cybercrime.
Salla GUEYE
