Before You Begin
Whether you're pursuing a Saudi Aramco CCC, SABIC CyberTrust, or CST certification, the audit preparation process follows similar principles. This guide will help you organize your evidence, identify gaps early, and streamline the entire compliance journey.
Step 1: Understand Your Scope
- Identify your certification type — Determine which program applies: CCC/CCC+ for Aramco, one of the 7 SABIC categories, or CST supplier classification.
- Review applicable controls — Obtain the full list of controls for your certification. For CCC, this is 200 SACS-002 controls. For SABIC, it's 16 general plus category-specific controls. For CST, it depends on your supplier classification.
- Define your assessment boundary — Clearly scope which systems, networks, facilities, and personnel are included in the assessment.
Step 2: Conduct a Gap Analysis
Before engaging an auditor, perform an internal gap analysis to identify areas needing attention:
- Map each control to your existing policies, procedures, and technical configurations
- Identify controls where you have no evidence or where policies are outdated
- Prioritize high-risk gaps that could result in non-compliance findings
- Create a remediation timeline for each identified gap
Step 3: Prepare Your Evidence
Strong evidence is the foundation of a successful audit. For each control, prepare:
Policy Documents
- Approved and signed by management
- Reviewed within the last 12 months
- Version controlled with revision history
- Communicated to relevant personnel
Technical Evidence
- Screenshots of configurations
- System-generated reports and logs
- Network diagrams and architecture
- Training records and certificates
Step 4: Common Gaps to Address
Based on our experience auditing hundreds of organizations, these are the most common compliance gaps:
- Missing or outdated policies — Many organizations have informal practices but lack formalized, management-approved policy documents.
- Incomplete access reviews — User access reviews must be conducted regularly and documented. Ad-hoc reviews don't satisfy control requirements.
- No incident response plan — A formal, tested incident response plan is required. Having a verbal understanding is insufficient.
- Insufficient logging and monitoring — Security events must be logged, stored for the required retention period, and actively monitored.
- No business continuity testing — Having a BCP is not enough. It must be tested at least annually with results documented.
Step 5: Engage Your Audit Firm
Once preparation is complete, engage an authorized audit firm. Here's what to expect:
Kickoff MeetingScope confirmation, timeline agreement, and evidence request list delivery
Evidence SubmissionUpload all prepared evidence through the audit platform
Assessment & ReviewAuditors review evidence, conduct interviews, and assess compliance
Findings ReportReceive detailed findings with remediation guidance for any gaps
Remediation WindowAddress findings and submit additional evidence as needed
Certificate IssuanceUpon successful assessment, receive your compliance certificate