Lei n.º 7/17, de 16 de Fevereiro, Lei de Protecção das Redes e Sistemas Informáticos (Angola)

Lei n.º 7/17, de 16 de Fevereiro (the Law on the Protection of Networks and Information Systems) is Angola's principal dedicated cyberspace-security statute. Published in Diário da República, I Série, n.º 27 on 16 February 2017 and in force from that date, it establishes the legal regime for safeguarding Angolan cyberspace against attacks, intrusions and information-technology incidents, and for promoting a secure information society and digital inclusion. The law's core obligations fall on electronic-communications operators and ICT service providers, which must implement physical and logical security measures to guarantee the integrity, confidentiality, availability and privacy of networks and communications, and must be able to anticipate, detect, respond to and recover from security risks and incidents. On the criminal side, the law provides for penalties in respect of computer attacks, unauthorised access to and interception of information systems, and damage to computer data. The substantive catalogue of cyber offences is, however, principally set out in Angola's Penal Code (Law 38/20, in force from 2021), which for the first time codified computer crime in two groups, Crimes Against Computer Data and Crimes Against Communication and Information Systems (Articles 439 - 444), covering unlawful access, illegitimate interception, data and system interference, computer-related forgery and fraud, and related conduct such as card cloning and illicit electronic funds transfers. Investigative and procedural responsibility sits with the Criminal Investigation Service (Serviço de Investigação Criminal, SIC), whose Cybercrime Department leads computer-crime investigations and acts as Angola's 24/7 point of contact for international cooperation and mutual legal assistance. Institutional cyberspace-protection functions are coordinated through the telecommunications and ICT ministry (MINTTICS) and the sector regulator. For the ATLPF library this instrument is recorded under Cybercrime, with Telecoms as a secondary topic given the network-operator security obligations it imposes. It should be read together with Angola's data-protection regime (Law 22/11 on the Protection of Personal Data) and the pending draft Law on Artificial Intelligence, both already on file. Researchers should note that the full offence definitions and penalties require cross-reference to the 2020 Penal Code, which the 2017 law predates.

1. 1Establishes the legal regime for safeguarding Angola's cyberspace, networks and information systems against attacks, intrusions and IT incidents
2. 2Imposes security obligations on electronic-communications operators and ICT service providers to guarantee integrity, confidentiality, availability and privacy and to anticipate, detect, react to and recover from network security incidents
3. 3Provides criminal penalties for computer attacks, unauthorised access/interception and damage to information systems
4. 4Substantive offence definitions complemented by Penal Code (Law 38/20) arts. 439 - 444 (Crimes Against Computer Data; Crimes Against Communication and Information Systems)
5. 5Investigations led by the Criminal Investigation Service (SIC) Cybercrime Department, the national 24/7 point of contact for mutual legal assistance
6. 6Coordinated institutionally through MINTTICS and the telecommunications regulator
7. 7Supports digital inclusion and national cyberspace-resilience objectives