DAR ES SALAAM: THE government has begun a bold move of registering critical information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure across 19 sectors as part of measures to protect systems whose disruption could affect essential services, the economy and national security.
The registration covers critical ICT infrastructure in sectors including finance and banking, information and communications, water, health, energy, mining, transport, food and agriculture and construction.
Other sectors include the blue economy, environment, manufacturing, defence, aviation, education, land, civil administration, civil protection, and public order and safety.
Announcing the move yesterday while speaking to journalists in Dar es Salaam, Minister for Communication and Information Technology Angellah Kairuki urged owners and operators of critical ICT infrastructures to register through the Critical Information Infrastructure Portal (CII-Portal) to enable the government to identify and protect such facilities.
The official CII portal confirms that the registration process is intended to support identification and protection of critical information infrastructure.
She said the measure was being implemented under Section 28 of the Cybercrimes Act No. 14 of 2015, while Government Notice No. 147 of June 19, 2026 identifies the critical ICT infrastructure required to be registered.
“For critical ICT infrastructure to be protected, it must first be identified in accordance with the criteria established by law. Protecting such infrastructure is essential for the security, resilience and continuity of digital services in the country,” Ms Kairuki said.
She said the registration would help identify critical infrastructure, assess potential risks and establish a stronger framework for protecting it against growing threats in the ICT environment.
Under the Cybercrimes Act, critical ICT infrastructure includes tangible and intangible assets, facilities, computer systems or networks that are of such importance that their failure could have security, economic or social consequences.
Ms Kairuki said under Section 29 of the Act, anyone found guilty of damaging critical ICT infrastructure could face a fine of not less than 100m/- or three times the damage caused, imprisonment for not less than five years, or both.
“Together, we can build a secure and resilient digital environment that will enable essential services to continue being delivered effectively, even when dealing with cybersecurity challenges and threats,” she said.
The Minister said the government, in collaboration with key stakeholders from the public and private sectors in Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar, had identified critical ICT infrastructure requiring legal protection and developed guidelines to ensure that such infrastructure remained secure and operational.
She said the guidelines covered identification and management of critical ICT infrastructure, auditing, risk assessment, data integrity and authenticity, as well as preparation of disaster recovery plans.
Ms Kairuki said the Ministry had also prepared a public awareness programme targeting different groups and sectors on the registration and protection of critical ICT infrastructure.
She said in the event of a security incident involving critical ICT infrastructure, stakeholders must report it to the relevant supervisory authorities within 24 hours of detecting the incident to minimise potential impacts.
“The main objective is to ensure that the authorities receive early information about the incident, the type of impact that may arise, the services affected or potentially affected, as well as the initial measures taken by the owner or operator to address the incident,” she said.
For his part, Director of the ICT Protection and Cybersecurity Unit in the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Mussa Chiwelenje, said registration of the infrastructure was important for protecting national security and economic stability.
He said disruption of critical infrastructure could have a direct impact on business activities, citing banking systems as an example of infrastructure relied upon by businesses and the public to conduct financial transactions.