Senegal’s free Internet plan could pose cybersecurity risks
Senegal’s free Internet plan could pose cybersecurity risks
Publish Date: 2026-03-09 10:42:00
Source Domain: www.connectingafrica.com
Late last year, Senegal’s Minister of Communication, Telecommunications and Digital Economy Alioune Sall announced that the country was planning on giving free Internet access to one million people by the end of 2026, particularly those who reside in remote areas.
In February this year, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye officially launched the Universal Connectivity initiative aimed at providing one million residents with Internet access so as to bridge the digital divide.
According to the President, the launch is set to make digital technology an instrument for territorial inclusion, access to equal opportunities and social justice.
It also commits the country to universal digital access as a lever for human capital transformation, job creation and sovereignty.
However, two days prior to the launch of the Universal Connectivity program, the Directorate of File Automation (DAF) was hacked.
The DAF operates under the Ministry of Interior and Public Security and oversees the management of the country’s biometric population register and issues identity documents including national ID cards, passports and residency documents.
The cyberattack was reportedly conducted by a hacker group called the Green Blood Group taking a large cache of data which includes biometrics, identity records, birth records and immigration files.
Vulnerability of Senegal’s cyberspace
As of the end of 2025, Senegal’s online penetration stood at 60.6%, however, only 3% of rural households have access to the Internet, hence the need for the Universal Connectivity initiative.
Although Senegal has one of the fastest Internet speeds in West Africa, the country has already undergone two serious cyberattacks within a space of only a few months.
In October 2025, the country’s national tax authority the Direction Générale des Impôts et des Domaines (DGID) was reportedly hacked by the Black Shrantact which took approximately 1TB of…
