Angola’s leading telecommunications provider, UNITEL, has fully restored its core mobile and internet services after a nationwide cyberattack disrupted operations across the country, highlighting the growing cybersecurity risks facing Africa’s digital infrastructure.
The operator announced that its primary services—including mobile voice calls, SMS, mobile data, internet connectivity and third-party digital services—were fully restored on August 5, following the cyberattack that struck its technology infrastructure in the early hours of July 28, 2026.
According to UNITEL, the attack was a deliberate attempt to compromise its critical technology systems, resulting in the partial unavailability of services for customers across Angola.
Business Continuity Plan Activated
Following the incident, UNITEL said it immediately activated its incident response protocols and business continuity plans, enabling its technical teams, alongside technology partners, to progressively restore affected services while containing the impact of the attack.
The company stated that although core services have now been restored, customers experiencing isolated service interruptions or intermittent connectivity issues are encouraged to contact its customer support centre or visit authorised retail outlets for assistance.
UNITEL also confirmed that engineers will continue carrying out system optimisation, performance monitoring and infrastructure normalisation over the coming days to ensure the long-term stability of its network.
Investigation Underway
The telecom operator disclosed that it is collaborating with Angolan authorities and specialised cybersecurity experts to investigate the attack and gather digital forensic evidence.
According to the company, additional information regarding the incident will only be released when investigations reach significant milestones and when doing so will not compromise national security interests or ongoing forensic examinations.
Growing Cybersecurity Threats Across Africa
The incident comes amid a sharp rise in cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure across Africa.
Telecommunications companies have increasingly become attractive targets because they manage essential national infrastructure, customer communications, financial transactions and vast amounts of personal data.
Successful attacks on telecom operators can disrupt communications, affect businesses, interrupt digital financial services and expose sensitive customer information.
Recent cybersecurity assessments have also warned that cybercriminals are increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence and sophisticated attack techniques to compromise organisations across the continent, placing greater emphasis on cyber resilience and proactive threat detection.
Commitment to Stronger Cybersecurity
UNITEL condemned the cyberattack and reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening information security across its network.
The company said previous investments in cybersecurity capabilities played an important role in containing the attack and accelerating the structured recovery of affected services.
It also expressed appreciation to the Angolan Government, security agencies, regulators, technology partners and industry stakeholders for their support throughout the response and recovery process.
UNITEL further thanked its employees for their professionalism during the incident and expressed gratitude to customers for their patience, trust and understanding while services were being restored.