Cybersecurity law & regulation in Côte d'Ivoire (2026)

Legal framework

Ordonnance No. 2024-950 of October 30, 2024 on securing the digital space (ratified as law April 24, 2025); Law No. 2013-451 on cybercrime (amended 2023); National Cybersecurity Strategy 2021-2025; administered by ANSSI-CI (Agence Nationale de la Sécurité des Systèmes d'Information) created by Decree No. 2024-958

Key points: cybersecurity in Côte d'Ivoire

1. 01Core cybercrime law

   Law No. 2013-451 of June 19, 2013 criminalises unauthorised system access, data interception, cyberfraud, and dissemination of illicit content; Articles 17, 33, 58, 60, 62, and 66 were tightened by Law No. 2023-593 of June 7, 2023, raising penalties.

   artci.ci anssi.gouv.ci

2. 022024 digital-space security ordinance

   Ordonnance No. 2024-950 of October 30, 2024, ratified by the National Assembly on April 24, 2025, modernises the electronic-transactions framework and transfers network security, information-system audit and certification, and electronic-certificate issuance from ARTCI to ANSSI-CI.

   wearetech.africa telecom.gouv.ci

3. 03ANSSI-CI as dedicated authority

   Created by Decree No. 2024-958 of October 30, 2024, ANSSI-CI designs national information-system security strategies, protects public and private critical digital infrastructure, operates the national CI-CERT, and coordinates cybersecurity crisis management; it also oversees approval of cybersecurity service providers (PASSI accreditation).

   anssi.gouv.ci gouv.ci

4. 04Incident reporting mechanism

   ANSSI-CI operates a public incident-reporting portal (Menaces & Incidents / Procédures en cas d'incident); any citizen, company, or public body can submit a report triggering CI-CERT analysis and, where warranted, coordinated technical response or national alerts. Mandatory reporting obligations for operators of critical infrastructure are embedded in the PPIC framework.

   anssi.gouv.ci anssi.gouv.ci

5. 05National Cybersecurity Strategy 2021-2025

   Adopted December 22, 2021 with an 18-billion CFA franc budget (~USD 31 million), the strategy mandates a national SOC for real-time incident surveillance, a General Information Systems Security Framework (RGSSI), and a Critical Infrastructure Protection Plan (PPIC) covering transport, energy, health, and financial sectors.

   telecom.gouv.ci dig.watch

6. 06Data protection & electronic trust layer

   Law No. 2013-450 of June 19, 2013 establishes personal data protection obligations enforced by ARTCI as independent data-protection authority; Law No. 2013-546 on electronic transactions (amended by Ordonnance 2024-950) governs electronic contracts, signatures, and cryptology, forming a complementary digital-trust layer alongside the cybersecurity regime.

   artci.ci artci.ci

Timeline of decisions

1. 24 Apr 2025Law
   National Assembly Unanimously Ratifies Ordinance 2024-950 on Digital Space Security

   The National Assembly voted to ratify Ordinance No. 2024-950, formally embedding ANSSI's full cybersecurity mandate in statute and definitively repealing Article 50 of Law 2013-546 that had assigned those powers to ARTCI. The vote completed the legislative overhaul of Côte d'Ivoire's institutional cybersecurity architecture begun in October 2024.

   We Are Tech (National Assembly proceedings)

2. 1 Feb 2025Enforcement · official
   Operation Red Card: Côte d'Ivoire Joins INTERPOL Pan-African Cybercrime Sweep

   Côte d'Ivoire was among seven nations participating in INTERPOL's Operation Red Card (November 2024, February 2025), which resulted in over 300 arrests targeting mobile-banking, investment-app, and messaging-platform fraud syndicates. The operation confirmed operational integration between the PLCC, CI-CERT, and INTERPOL's African Joint Operation against Cybercrime (AFJOC).

   INTERPOL

3. 30 Oct 2024Law · official
   Decree No. 2024-958 establishes ANSSI-CI — National Information Systems Security Agency

   The Council of Ministers adopted Decree No. 2024-958 creating the Agence Nationale de la Sécurité des Systèmes d'Information (ANSSI-CI), centralising all cybersecurity and cybercrime-fighting functions previously distributed across ARTCI, the DITT, and CI-CERT into a single authority supervised jointly by the Minister of Digital Transition and the Minister of Security. ANSSI absorbed CI-CERT on 30 April 2025 and is now developing a successor Cybersecurity Strategy 2026-2030.

   Gouvernement de Côte d'Ivoire

4. 30 Oct 2024Decision · official
   National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) established by Council of Ministers decree

   The Agence Nationale de la Sécurité des Systèmes d'Information (ANSSI) was created by ministerial decree, consolidating cybersecurity coordination, critical-infrastructure protection, and incident crisis management under one authority. ANSSI recorded over 12,100 cybercrime cases in 2024 and provides the operational security backbone for AI system deployments across public and private sectors.

   ANSSI Côte d'Ivoire

5. 30 Oct 2024Law · official
   Ordinance 2024-950 and Decree 2024-958 Create ANSSI and Overhaul Cybersecurity Governance

   Ordinance No. 2024-950 modernised the digital-space security framework, transferring network-security audit, information-system certification, and electronic-certificate issuance from ARTCI to the newly created National Agency for Information Systems Security (ANSSI), established by Decree No. 2024-958. ANSSI is mandated to protect state networks and critical infrastructure, coordinate incident response, and issue security accreditations.

   ARTCI (Decree 2024-958 official text)

6. 6 Jun 2024Law · official
   Law 2024-352 on Electronic Communications Enacted

   Law No. 2024-352 replaced the 2012 ICT Code, updating licensing, interconnection, and operator security obligations for the modern broadband and mobile ecosystem and reinforcing cybersecurity-compliance duties for electronic communications providers.

   ARTCI

7. 1 Jan 2024Enforcement · official
   INTERPOL Operation Contender 2.0: Main Suspect Arrested for USD 1.9 M Swiss Fraud

   Working with Swiss authorities under INTERPOL's AFJOC framework, the Ivorian cyber unit arrested the primary suspect behind an investment-fraud scheme targeting over 260 Swiss victims and yielding USD 1.9 million. The case demonstrated the operational maturity of the PLCC/CI-CERT international-cooperation model.

   INTERPOL

8. 7 Jun 2023Law · official
   Law 2023-593 Strengthens Cybercrime Penalties and Adds New Offences

   Law No. 2023-593 amended six articles of the 2013 Cybercrime Law, sharply raising sentences for child sexual abuse material (up to 6 years imprisonment and 40 million FCFA), digital intellectual-property offences, and introducing criminal liability for disseminating hateful or discriminatory content through information systems.

   ANSSI Côte d'Ivoire

9. 3 Apr 2023Law · official
   Côte d'Ivoire ratifies the AU Malabo Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection

   Côte d'Ivoire's ratification was one of the 15 required to bring the African Union's Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection into force, which occurred on 8 June 2023. The convention sets binding continental standards on e-transactions, personal data processing, cybersecurity, and cybercrime, complementing Côte d'Ivoire's domestic framework.

   African Union

10. 22 Dec 2021Guidance · official
    National Cybersecurity Strategy 2021-2025 Adopted with RGSSI and Critical Infrastructure Protection Plan

    The government adopted the National Cybersecurity Strategy 2021-2025 (budget: 18 billion FCFA) and simultaneously issued Decree No. 2021-916 establishing the General Information Systems Security Reference Framework (RGSSI) and the Critical Infrastructure Protection Plan (PPIC), imposing mandatory baseline security standards on public institutions and operators of vital infrastructure.

    Ministry of Digital Transition and Digitalisation

11. 29 Jan 2020Law · official
    Decree No. 2020-128 formally establishes CI-CERT

    This decree created the national Computer Emergency Response Team (CI-CERT) under ARTCI and imposed a mandatory incident-reporting obligation on all public and private network and information-system operators to notify CI-CERT of any attack, intrusion, or disruption. It established the first legally grounded national incident-response structure and remained operative until ANSSI absorbed CI-CERT in April 2025.

    Journal Officiel de la Côte d'Ivoire (via Juriafrica)

12. 29 Jan 2020Law · official
    Decree 2020-128 Formally Establishes CI-CERT with Mandatory Incident-Reporting Obligation

    Decree No. 2020-128 gave statutory legal status to CI-CERT (operational since 2009) and imposed a binding duty on all operators of public or private networks and information systems to notify CI-CERT of any attack, intrusion, or disruption that could affect other systems, the country's first mandatory cyber-incident reporting obligation.

    CI-CERT (official)

13. 7 Dec 2017Law · official
    Law 2017-803 on Orientation of the Information Society

    Law No. 2017-803 established foundational legal and institutional principles for Côte d'Ivoire's information society, declared internet access a fundamental right, and set overarching cybersecurity governance obligations for all public and private actors operating digital infrastructure.

    ARTCI

14. 19 Jun 2013Law · official
    Law No. 2013-451 on Cybercrime enacted

    Adopted alongside the data-protection law, Law No. 2013-451 criminalises ICT-specific offences, defines liability of online service providers, and sets digital criminal procedure rules — forming the enforcement backbone against malicious uses of AI, automated fraud, and algorithmic manipulation of networks.

    Council of Europe Octopus Cybercrime Community

15. 19 Jun 2013Law
    Law No. 2013-451 on Cybercrime Enacted Alongside Data Protection Law

    Enacted the same day as Law No. 2013-450, this cybercrime law criminalises unauthorised access, data interception, digital fraud, and online privacy violations, providing the criminal-law complement to the administrative data protection regime and addressing cyber-enabled personal data breaches.

    Droit-Afrique

16. 19 Jun 2013Law · official
    Law 2013-451 on Cybercrime, Cornerstone Legislation

    Law No. 2013-451, Côte d'Ivoire's primary cybercrime statute, criminalised unauthorised system access, attacks on data confidentiality, integrity and availability, computer fraud, child sexual exploitation online, and cyberstalking, with custodial penalties of several months to multiple years plus fines; it remains the foundational substantive cybercrime instrument.

    UNODC / Government of Côte d'Ivoire (official text)

17. 2 Sept 2011Decision
    PLCC (Platform for the Fight Against Cybercrime) Established

    A cooperation agreement between the Directorate-General of the National Police and ARTCI created the PLCC, Côte d'Ivoire's dedicated cybercrime enforcement unit combining investigative and technical capabilities for victim assistance, arrests, and content takedowns; in 2023 alone the PLCC removed over 280 videos and 1,600 fake accounts from social networks.

    Africa Cybersecurity Magazine

18. 1 Jan 2011Decision · official
    PLCC — dedicated cybercrime enforcement platform — established

    The Plateforme de Lutte Contre la Cybercriminalité (PLCC) was created as a joint operational unit between the National Police and ARTCI, becoming the frontline enforcement body against online crime. Processing 4,500–12,000 complaints annually by 2024 (including fraud, digital identity theft, and non-consensual intimate image sharing), it was the primary enforcement mechanism predating ANSSI.

    Gouvernement de Côte d'Ivoire

Sources

1. 1.anssi.gouv.ci/
2. 2.anssi.gouv.ci/nos-missions/
3. 3.telecom.gouv.ci/new/uploads/publications/171137214933.pdf
4. 4.wearetech.africa/en/fils-uk/news/tech/cote-d-ivoire-approves-new-digital-security-fram
5. 5.artci.ci/images/stories/pdf/lois/loi_2013_451.pdf
6. 6.gouv.ci/_actualite-article.php?recordID=17727&d=1
7. 7.dig.watch/resource/ivory-coasts-cybersecurity-strategy-2021-2025
8. 8.anssi.gouv.ci/procedures-en-cas-dincident/
9. 9.anssi.gouv.ci/reglementations/textes-nationaux/lois/
10. 10.telecom.gouv.ci/new/index.php/actualite/101
11. 11.anssi.gouv.ci/menaces-incidents/
12. 12.artci.ci/images/stories/pdf/english/lois_english/loi_2013_450_english.pdf
13. 13.artci.ci/index.php/textes-de-reference/lois.html