Role of NCA in Saudi Arabia
Along with the progress and development in the world of technology and digital transformation, the rates of penetration and cyber-attacks have increased. to keep pace with this development, Saudi Arabia interacted with the alignment of Vision 2030 which has become one of the Kingdom’s goals to move towards digital transformation and the development and improvement of infrastructure. Due to the importance of this data and preserving it from the risks and threats of cyberspace, the country established the National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) so that the authority becomes the competent authority in the Kingdom for cybersecurity as well as the national reference for implementing, developing, and improving cybersecurity strategies to protect the interests of the country and its national security and government sectors, services, and activities. By providing a strong security system and a secure environment for data and digital operations.
Based on the official charter of the NCA cybersecurity is defined as the protection of networks, information technology systems, operational technology systems and their components of hardware and software, the services they provide, and the data they contain, from any penetration, disruption, modification, entry, use, or exploitation Illicit. This concept also includes information security, electronic security, digital security, and the like. Thus, the goal of the National Cybersecurity Authority becomes to protect the interests of the country, protect the security of the Kingdom, protect the sensitive infrastructure of the Kingdom, and enhance its cybersecurity.
Let’s get acquainted with some of the tasks of the National Cybersecurity Authority: Developing and preparing strategies, governance policies and mechanisms, frameworks, standards, controls, and guidelines related to cybersecurity, and then issuing a circular to the relevant entities to implement what is required and ensuring that the entities adhere to them by supervising their implementation and proposing any updates. It also works to identify and classify critical infrastructure. additionally works to define frameworks for managing cybersecurity risks and alerting the competent authorities of risks and threats. To find out more tasks (1).
The Authority has designed a framework of reference for cybersecurity for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia based on the best local and international practices and the most important challenges facing cybersecurity. Under a method that combines safety, trust, and growth to achieve: A resilient, secure, and trusted Saudi cyberspace that enables growth and prosperity. This framework consists of six themes containing eighteen main elements of cybersecurity. This framework is designed to understand the Kingdom’s cyberspace and its use for strategy design.
To summarize the above, the reason and goal behind the implementation of the national strategy are to work on integrated governance of cybersecurity, to form effective management of cyber risks, to protect cyberspace, to improve national capabilities through their ability to defend against cyber threats, and to improve partnerships and cooperation in cybersecurity, moreover, building national human capacities and developing the cybersecurity industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
