EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Over the years, the Government of Uganda has placed the requisite enabling environment to facilitate the growth of the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector. Uganda has invested in a national fibre-optic backbone to promote social and economic development by availing cost effective, reliable and high-speed connectivity to the businesses and citizens. In the last ten years, Uganda's ICT sector has grown at an exponential rate, owing largely to a favorable policy and legal climate that has resulted in increased investment, expansion of ICT infrastructure, innovation, and expansion of ICT products and services. The potential for the total transformation of the economy and the attendant social impact is best demonstrated by the pervasive expansion and use of mobile money services in Uganda. Mobile money transactions facilitated via telecommunication company platforms more than [1] doubled in value to US $26 billion in 2020, from $9 billion in 2015 [2]. The recent Uganda National Development Plan for 2020/21 – 2024/25, that stipulates the Country’s medium term strategic direction, development priorities and implementation strategies in line with the Uganda Vision 2040, sets the digital transformation, ie the usage of ICT services for social and economic development as one of the 18 core programs of the strategy. At the same time, peace, security and defence are prerequisites for a sustainable socio-economic transformation, democracy and national unity. The growth in the ICT infrastructure, Internet usage and online access have opened new opportunities for the country, however, with the increase in use of eservices, the need for cybersecurity protection is key in order to avoid cyber fraud and maintain trust in the use of these services. Information security also serves broader national security goals by protecting critical national sectors and information infrastructure. Security in cyberspace is especially important to realize the strategic visions of Uganda. This Cybersecurity Strategy 2021 provides development paths, policy and technical recommendations to achieve Uganda’s Vision 2040 aiming to transform Uganda to a competitive upper middle income country. Uganda has taken important steps to put in place and implement in practice the necessary policy, legal and regulatory frameworks in order to take advantage of the growing digital economy, but also to protect its critical national infrastructure and citizens, by ensuring a safe and secure space that will help the society to have trust and confidence in the digital economy. The Cybersecurity Strategy 2021 is a strategic planning tool that reflects Uganda’s plans to achieve the objectives of modern economies. The strategy contributes to existing policies that seek to implement Uganda’s socio-economic development from cybersecurity perspective and aspires to support building a digital environment that citizens and businesses can trust. The Strategy document is structured into four main chapters. First, after introduction the vision, mission and goals for Uganda are set for the next years in the cybersecurity domain. Next, the Strategy describes the context of today’s trends in digital development and Uganda’s strategic advances, but also cyber threats and trends in cybercrime, and the national capacity to address these. The essence of the Cybersecurity Strategy 2021 is in Chapter 5 that describes the main principles, strategic direction, pillars and targets in 6 areas. The last Chapter covers implementation mechanism as well as monitoring and evaluation of the strategy. The Strategy was developed through a consultative process led by the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance. 6 (43) [Draft Version for stakeholder consultation]