Ransomware attacks on Saudi enterprises have increased 340% year-on-year according to NCA’s 2024 threat landscape report. The NCA Essential Cybersecurity Controls (ECC-1:2018) provide a mandatory framework of 47 controls designed to systematically eliminate the attack surface ransomware exploits.
The five ECC domains that matter most for ransomware resilience
The ECC framework divides its 47 controls across five domains. For ransomware specifically, three domains are critical: Cybersecurity Defence (18 controls), Cybersecurity Resilience (7 controls), and Third-Party & Cloud Cybersecurity (8 controls).
Domain 2: Cybersecurity Defence
Controls ECC-2-1 through ECC-2-18 govern your detection and response posture. The most impactful for ransomware prevention are endpoint detection and response (EDR) deployment, email security gateway configuration, and privileged access management (PAM). Ransomware typically enters via phishing or remote desktop exploitation — both vectors addressed directly by ECC-2.
Domain 3: Cybersecurity Resilience
The seven resilience controls mandate documented backup procedures, tested recovery processes, and defined RTO/RPO targets. Critically, ECC-3-4 requires offline or air-gapped backup copies — exactly what prevents ransomware from encrypting your only backup.
Practical implementation sequence
NAS recommends a phased approach:
1. Conduct a baseline gap assessment against all 47 controls (we provide a free checklist in our Resources Hub)
2. Prioritise Domain 2 controls with the highest ransomware impact: EDR, email gateway, and PAM
3. Implement and test your backup and recovery controls (Domain 3)
4. Complete third-party risk assessment for cloud and vendor access (Domain 4)
What a certified organisation looks like
After completing NCA ECC certification for 15+ clients in KSA, we have observed that the most resilient organisations share three characteristics: they treat ECC as an operating standard rather than a compliance checkbox, they conduct quarterly internal audits rather than annual ones, and they align their DR testing schedule to their ECC renewal cycle.
If your organisation is approaching an NCA audit or wants to assess your current posture, download our free NCA ECC Readiness Checklist from our Resources Hub.
