NCA Cloud Cybersecurity Controls CCC-2:2024, Cloud Service Tenant (NCA_CCC_CST)

At a glance

Property	Value
Framework ID (for regimes_active)	NCA_CCC_CST
Authority / publisher	National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Version	CCC-2:2024 (issued 2024)
Status	Not declared in the catalogue metadata
SWAO catalogue version	1.0.0
Total controls	18
Scoring mode	binary (schema default; not declared)
Assessment scope (framework-meta)	app, aud
Signal prefix	NCA_CCC_CST
Licence and redistribution	Published by the NCA and classified as publicly available. Control descriptions paraphrase the English text of the official publication; no legal advice.
Last reviewed	2026-07-18

What it is

The Cloud Cybersecurity Controls (CCC-2:2024) are issued by the National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They are a mandatory extension of the Essential Cybersecurity Controls (NCA_ECC) for cloud computing and split the obligations along the shared-responsibility model: one set for cloud service providers (CSP, P-notation) and one for cloud service tenants (CST, T-notation). SWAO packages the two sides as separate frameworks.

The CST side covers what a consuming organisation must do: cloud roles and risk management, monitoring the provider's compliance, screening of staff in cloud-sensitive functions, an inventory of cloud services, credential and access management, verification of community cloud isolation, protection of the connection to the provider, an exit strategy, cryptography and key management, vulnerability management, logging, and disaster recovery for cloud. CSTs must comply with both ECC and CCC. CCC applies to Saudi government agencies, CNI operators and private-sector entities that use or plan to use cloud services (framework-meta.yaml description).

Who should use it in SWAO and when

Use NCA_CCC_CST when an organisation subject to NCA oversight moves an application to the cloud or already runs it there: a ministry portal, a CNI operator's back-office system or a regulated company's SaaS workload. It fits application and migration assessments, typically combined with NCA_ECC and, for financial institutions, SAMA_CSF. Use NCA_CCC_CSP when the provider itself is assessed.

What SWAO checks

Controls are evaluated by the compliance pass (Pass 11, COMP). For every framework listed in assessment.regimes_active, the pass sends each control's ID, title, description and default severity, together with all signals produced earlier in the run, to the configured LLM in batches of 20 controls. The LLM returns one outcome per control with a short rationale:

Outcome	Meaning
SATISFIED	Signals positively confirm that the control is met.
PARTIAL	Some elements are present, but gaps remain.
GAP	Signals show that the control is not met.
UNKNOWN	No signal addresses the control either way.
N_A	The control does not apply to this workload (with justification).

Signal references cited by the LLM are checked against the real signal set of the run, and evidence file paths are taken from the cited signals rather than from the LLM. Without a configured LLM provider every control is recorded as UNKNOWN and the framework status is pending-llm. A roll-up signal COMP-NN summarises the outcome counts per framework.

Each control in the catalogue also declares an evidence_basis: the signal family or document it is meant to be judged on. The evaluator does not filter on this field. It tells reviewers which evidence matters and is shown in the HTML publication as the scope of the automated check. Documents such as policies, runbooks and architecture descriptions reach the run through the ingest and context passes.

Eleven of the 18 controls declare a consultant-supplied evidence file, for example evidence/cst-10-data-exit-strategy.md for NCA_CCC_CST_10 Cloud Data Exit Strategy and Secure Transfer. These files are not shipped with the framework. Seven controls declare a signal family that code, configuration and infrastructure-as-code analysis can contribute to:

Control	Title	Declared evidence basis
NCA_CCC_CST_06	Identity and Access Management for Cloud Credentials	IAM
NCA_CCC_CST_11	Cryptographic Standards for Cloud Data Protection	CRYPTO (Pass 08)
NCA_CCC_CST_13	Cloud Service Log Collection and Monitoring	OBS
NCA_CCC_CST_14	Key Management Policy: Identification and Documentation	CRYPTO (Pass 08)
NCA_CCC_CST_15	Key Management Policy: Implementation	CRYPTO (Pass 08)
NCA_CCC_CST_16	Key Management: Technical Requirements	CRYPTO (Pass 08)
NCA_CCC_CST_17	Key Management Policy: Periodic Review	CRYPTO (Pass 08)

Note: this catalogue declares the signal families IAM, OBS. No pass in the current release emits signals with these prefixes, so the affected controls are in practice judged on related signals (for example Terraform, egress or cryptography findings) and on context documents.

Control structure

The catalogue follows the CCC-2:2024 domain and subdomain numbering. The framework-meta.yaml description names four domains; the catalogue contains controls for Domains 1 to 3 and none for Domain 4 (Third-Party Cloud Cybersecurity). Each control carries tags on the axes domain, role and applies-to.

Domain / pillar	Controls	Declared automated evidence	Example controls
Domain 1: Cloud Cybersecurity Governance	4	0	NCA_CCC_CST_01 Cybersecurity Roles and RACI for Cloud Services; NCA_CCC_CST_02 Cybersecurity Risk Management for Cloud Services
Domain 2: Cloud Cybersecurity Defense	13	7	NCA_CCC_CST_05 Inventory of Cloud Services and Related Technology Assets; NCA_CCC_CST_06 Identity and Access Management for Cloud Credentials
Domain 3: Cloud Cybersecurity Resilience	1	0	NCA_CCC_CST_18 Cloud Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
Total	18	7

Subdomains covered by the catalogue:

Subdomain	Controls	Control IDs
1-1 Cybersecurity Roles and Responsibilities	1	NCA_CCC_CST_01
1-2 Cybersecurity Risk Management	1	NCA_CCC_CST_02
1-3 Compliance with Cybersecurity Standards, Laws, and Regulations	1	NCA_CCC_CST_03
1-4 Cybersecurity in Human Resources	1	NCA_CCC_CST_04
2-1 Asset Management	1	NCA_CCC_CST_05
2-2 Identity and Access Management	1	NCA_CCC_CST_06
2-3 Information System and Information Processing Facilities Protection	1	NCA_CCC_CST_07
2-4 Networks Security Management	1	NCA_CCC_CST_08
2-5 Mobile Devices Security	1	NCA_CCC_CST_09
2-6 Data and Information Protection	1	NCA_CCC_CST_10
2-7 Cryptography	1	NCA_CCC_CST_11
2-9 Vulnerabilities Management	1	NCA_CCC_CST_12
2-11 Cybersecurity Event Logs and Monitoring Management	1	NCA_CCC_CST_13
2-15 Key Management	4	NCA_CCC_CST_14, NCA_CCC_CST_15, NCA_CCC_CST_16, NCA_CCC_CST_17
3-1 Cybersecurity Resilience Aspects of Business Continuity Management (BCM)	1	NCA_CCC_CST_18

Cross-mapping to other frameworks

Per-control mappings in controls.yaml (maps_to), counted by target framework:

Target framework	Controls with at least one maps_to reference
ISO_27001	16
NCA_ECC	18

Declared cross-mapping hints in framework-meta.yaml (framework level, not per control): NCA_ECC, NCA_CCC_CSP, ISO_27001, SAMA_CSF.

How to enable

1. Discovery. Copy the folder nca-ccc-2-2024-cst into the workspace at wsp/inputs/catalogs/community/nca-ccc-2-2024-cst/ (see the next section). Any framework folder there is discovered automatically; no registration is needed. The TUI framework selection (Run Assessment, then the application's framework step) offers it, and the compliance pass resolves catalogues from this workspace folder. In the TUI, the framework picker for application assessments lists installed frameworks whose assessment_type_scope includes app. This framework declares app and aud, so it appears there; the landing zone assessment picker lists all installed frameworks.

2. Selection. The chosen frameworks are stored per application in apps/<app-id>/.swao.yml as assessment.regimes_active, and the compliance pass evaluates exactly that list. The TUI writes the entry for you; on the command line use swao regime-select --app <app-id> --regimes NCA_CCC_CST. As a manual alternative, edit the application's .swao.yml:

   assessment:
     regimes_active: [NCA_CCC_CST]

   Several frameworks can be combined in one list. To assess several applications against the same framework, add the ID to each of them.

3. Workspace level. A regimes_active list in the workspace .swao.yml applies to every application that has no list of its own. A list in the app always takes precedence.

4. Check. Run swao health-check: it reports IDs in regimes_active that have no installed catalogue.

Get or customise this framework

The framework source (framework-meta.yaml, controls.yaml and any supporting files) is public. You can view it on GitHub and copy and paste it:

• Framework source: https://github.com/Accenture/SWAO/tree/main/community-frameworks/nca-ccc-2-2024-cst
• Overview of all community frameworks: https://github.com/Accenture/SWAO/tree/main/community-frameworks

To customise the framework for one engagement, copy the folder nca-ccc-2-2024-cst into your workspace at wsp/inputs/catalogs/community/nca-ccc-2-2024-cst/ and edit the copy there, for example to adjust severities or to add engagement-specific controls. This workspace folder is what SWAO reads; the original bundled with SWAO stays unchanged. Place the copy directly under community/, because folders whose name starts with a dot are skipped. Keep regime_meta.id unique: if two workspace folders declare the same ID, only one of them is loaded. swao framework info NCA_CCC_CST prints the bundled metadata.

Limitations and notes

• SWAO produces an evidence-based pre-assessment. It is not a certification, an audit opinion or legal advice. Review every SATISFIED and GAP outcome before relying on it, and involve qualified auditors or counsel for formal compliance statements.
• Outcomes depend on the evidence available to the run (code, configuration, infrastructure-as-code, ingested documents) and on LLM judgement. Where no signal addresses a control, the LLM is instructed to return UNKNOWN, not GAP.
• Organisational, physical and contractual controls cannot be proven from code. They need documents supplied by the client.
• The Arabic version of NCA publications is binding for interpretation; the catalogue paraphrases the English text.
• Tenant obligations that depend on the provider (for example isolation in a community cloud) need provider attestations; SWAO cannot inspect the provider's platform.
• The catalogue models the main T-controls; consult the official publication for the complete control text.