The National Cryptographic Standards (NCS)

Sensitive data, networks, and systems protection processes are among the most difficult process that institutions face, the protective mechanism had been developing over the years especially with cryptographic mechanisms, as these mechanisms and algorithms had to develop and improve over time, because the penetration that’s happened at the beginning until today they reach to a high level of complexity which this add more security to the systems and data, and prevent manipulator from overcoming them.

The National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) prescribes/ defines national standards to determine the minimum acceptable cryptographic requirement to provide the required degree of protection for data, systems, and national networks by using cryptographic mechanisms for civil and commercial purposes, and to enhance the national uses of cryptographic to contribute in the protection of cyberspace at the kingdom level.

1. These standards are considered the main reference the determined the minimum requirement for cryptographic for civil and commercial purposes of: 

• Acceptable analog and non-symmetry cryptographic basics. 
• Acceptable analog and asymmetric encryption designs.
• Commonly accepted applications associated with  cryptographic protocols
• Public key infrastructure.
• key cycle management.

1. Implementing national Cryptographic standards help significantly in: 

• Protect data while it is stored, processed, and transmitted.

Protect the national systems and networks.

The national  cryptographic standards define the following:

• Accepted cryptographic primitives, Which involves the keys,  blocks, and  initialization vector sizes for each: 

1. Symmetric algorithms: such as stream and block ciphers algorithms.
2. Asymmetric algorithms.
3. Hash functions.
4. Lightweight crypto algorithms.

• Accepted cryptographic schemes.

1. Cipher Modes of operations.
2. Message Authentication Codes  (MAC). 
3. Authenticated, Encryption with associated data (AEAD).
4. key wrap functions (KWF).
5. Key Derivation Functions ( KDF).
6. Key agreement and key transport.
7. Hybrid Encryption schemes.
8. Public key signatures.

• Requirements of commonly used cryptographic protocols.

There are accepted technical requirements for a list of commonly used cryptographic protocols that have been selected, so you can find these protocols in the frequent questions section.

• Algorithms and requirements for certifications and their validity.

• Requirements of key lifecycle management steps (KLM).

To ensure safe management of the keys from the moment it was created until it had been destroyed and to ensure its standard uses during the necessary processes and procedures.

• Pseudo-Random Number Generation (PRNG).
• Post-Quantum Cryptography.
• Side-Channel Attacks.

Select a set of measures in order to minimize these attacks, such as: 

1. Cryptographic operations must be performed in certified hardware components.
2. Make a comprehensive analysis of the effects of these side channels on hardware components.
3. Protect all cipher data by using message authentication codes MAC), and verify data cipher before performing any other cryptographic operations.

Renad AlMajed for information technology (RMG) has succeeded in being from the  earliest companies that we’re able to implement the national cryptographic standards (NCS) through a group of experts and consultants and the company provides many services, which include:

• Make a maturity assessment.
• Implementation of national cryptographic standard (NCS).
• Development of the appropriate policies and procedures to each facility. 
• Develop performance indicators. 
• Account assurance services. 
• Providing training and knowledge transfer services.