Cybersecurity regulation in Venezuela (2026)

The Ley Especial contra los Delitos Informáticos (Official Gazette No. 37.313, 30 October 2001) is Venezuela's foundational cyber-specific statute. It criminalises unauthorised system access, data sabotage, computer espionage, and document falsification, and applies extraterritorially when effects are felt in Venezuela.

This organic law governs IT use across all Venezuelan public-sector bodies and private entities that provide services to the state, mandating access controls, data encryption, backup obligations, interoperability standards, and the use of free/open-source software in government systems.

Decree No. 4.975, published in Official Gazette No. 42.939 on 12 August 2024, created the Consejo Nacional de Ciberseguridad as a permanent presidential advisory body. Its 13 enumerated powers include establishing a continuous network for monitoring technological incidents and requiring public and private entities to supply security-related data and statistics to the Council.

Venezuela has no codified mandatory data-breach notification obligation to a government regulator or to affected individuals. There is no dedicated data-protection authority; constitutional privacy rights in Articles 28 and 60 exist but lack implementing legislation and procedural enforcement mechanisms.

CONATEL (National Telecommunications Commission) regulates telecoms security and has levied fines and threatened licence revocation for data-protection breaches, including a mandate that Venezuelan user data be stored domestically. SUSCERTE oversees electronic certification services and participates in national cybersecurity exercises coordinated with the ITU.

Multiple high-profile data breaches (including Telefónica Venezuela) have exposed the absence of cohesive privacy and security regulation. A proposed AI Bill is under discussion that could address data handling and security obligations, but as of May 2026 no such legislation has been enacted.