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Cybersecurity law & regulation in Sierra Leone (2026)

Cybersecurity in Sierra Leone: comprehensive law.

Sierra Leone has an in-force comprehensive cybersecurity and cybercrime statute, the Cyber Security and Crime Act, 2021, enacted in November 2021. It criminalises a wide range of cyber offences, mandates protection of critical national information infrastructure, requires reporting of cyber threats and breaches, and provides the legal basis for the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (NC3), which launched the national CSIRT and Digital Forensics Lab in January 2025.

Last verified Official sources first · MethodologyCompare Sierra Leone with other countries

Legal framework

Cyber Security and Crime Act, 2021 (No. 7 of 2021), implemented by the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (NC3); complemented by the National Cybersecurity Strategy and the National Communications Authority (NatCA).

Key points: cybersecurity in Sierra Leone

  1. Comprehensive enabling law

    The Cyber Security and Crime Act, 2021 was passed by Parliament on 23 June 2021 and assented to/enacted in November 2021. It aims to protect critical national information infrastructure, promote cybersecurity, enable collection of electronic evidence, and harmonise national law with the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime.

    parliament.gov.sl sierralii.gov.sl

  2. Incident and breach reporting duties

    The Act includes provisions on reporting cyber threats (Section 53) and breach of confidence by a service provider (Section 54), establishing obligations to report cyber incidents and breaches.

    parliament.gov.sl

  3. National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (NC3)

    The NC3 was created by the 2021 Act of Parliament and is mandated to handle all cybersecurity matters nationally, including responding to incidents. It evolved from a small cybersecurity unit in the Ministry of Information and Communications.

    nccc.gov.sl nccc.gov.sl

  4. National CSIRT and sectoral coordination

    On 14 January 2025 the NC3 launched Sierra Leone's National CSIRT (SL-CSIRT) and a National Digital Forensics Lab. The SL-CSIRT is tasked with establishing, coordinating and supporting sectoral CSIRTs across critical sectors including Government, Health, Finance, Energy and Telecoms.

    nccc.gov.sl nccc.gov.sl

  5. National Cybersecurity Strategy

    Sierra Leone has adopted a National Cybersecurity Strategy (published by the Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation), setting strategic priorities for governance, critical infrastructure protection and incident response, complementing the 2021 Act.

    nccc.gov.sl mocti.gov.sl

  6. Sector regulator and law enforcement

    The National Communications Authority (NatCA), established under the NatCA Act 2022, has a mandate to promote cybersecurity, fraud prevention and CSIRT development; the Sierra Leone Police operates a specialised cybercrime unit and the Office of the Attorney General acts as central authority for cybercrime and electronic-evidence matters.

    natca.gov.sl coe.int

Sources

  1. parliament.gov.sl/uploads/acts/THE%20CYBERSECURITY%20AND%20CRIME%20ACT,%202021%20-%20%2
  2. sierralii.gov.sl/akn/sl/act/2021/7/eng@2021-11-25
  3. nccc.gov.sl/
  4. nccc.gov.sl/who-we-ar/
  5. nccc.gov.sl/events&news/national-cybersecurity-coordination-centre-launches-sierr
  6. nccc.gov.sl/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SL-NATIONAL-CYBERSECURITY-STRATEGY-.pdf
  7. mocti.gov.sl/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Sierra-Leone-CYBERSECURITY-STRATEGY.pdf
  8. natca.gov.sl/mandate/
  9. coe.int/en/web/octopus/-/sierra-leone
  10. nccc.gov.sl/sl-csirt-ecosystem/

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Orientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 24 May 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026