Amid the Venezuelan government’s growing concerns over cyber threats targeting government technology services, the country has established the National Cybersecurity Council through Decree No. 4,975, dated August 12, 2024.
The newly formed Council will play an advisory role to the nation’s head of state, Nicolás Maduro, and the National Defense Counsel, with the primary objective of safeguarding Venezuela’s digital infrastructure against cyberattacks. It will be composed of representatives from the Office of the Vice President, the ministry of defense, science and technology, the ministry of economy, finance and foreign trade, the ministry of foreign relations, the ministry of interior relations, justice and peace, the ministry of planning, the ministry of national commerce and any other agency selected by the head of state or the coordinator of the Council.
Some key powers granted to the Council include, among others:
- Developing cybersecurity policies and regulations aimed at preventing the misuse of information and communication technologies for criminal purposes, such as digital fraud and cyberattacks.
- Promoting cybersecurity training programs to build awareness and strengthen digital security practices across public and private sectors.
- Establishing a permanent surveillance network for telematic incidents to monitor and respond to cyber threats proactively.
- Requesting cybersecurity-related data, statistics and information from private and public organizations.
The formation of the Council could lay the groundwork for future discussions on data protection, creating an opportunity for the eventual development of clearer regulations on data handling, security, and privacy. However, at this stage, no concrete steps have been outlined to indicate an immediate legislative shift in this direction.