If your company does business with Saudi Aramco -- or plans to -- you have almost certainly encountered the term CCC. The Cybersecurity Compliance Certificate is not optional. It is a mandatory gate that every third-party vendor must pass before Aramco will onboard them, renew a contract, or even allow access to Aramco-connected systems. This guide walks through what the certificate involves, how it is structured, and why the infrastructure behind your compliance posture matters far more than most vendors expect.

The Origin of Aramco CCC: Why It Exists

Saudi Aramco operates the world's most valuable energy infrastructure. A single cybersecurity incident in its supply chain could disrupt global oil markets, compromise sensitive exploration data, or endanger operational technology systems controlling refineries and pipelines. Aramco introduced the Third Party Cybersecurity Standard (SACS-002) to establish a minimum cybersecurity baseline for every company that connects to its network, processes its data, or provides outsourced IT services.

SACS-002 is not a suggestion. It is a contractual obligation embedded in Aramco's procurement process. Vendors that fail to obtain the CCC lose their eligibility to bid on contracts, and existing vendors that let their certificate lapse risk contract termination. The standard is maintained and updated by Aramco's Cybersecurity Compliance Division, and audits are conducted by Aramco-authorized assessors.

CCC vs. CCC+: Two Tiers of Certification

SACS-002 defines two certificate levels based on the type of services a vendor provides:

Most small and mid-size vendors serving Aramco fall into classifications that require CCC+. If you host, process, or have access to Aramco data beyond simple email correspondence, you are almost certainly in CCC+ territory. For a deeper dive into the differences, see our detailed comparison in the CCC vs. CCC+ guide.

The Five Vendor Classifications

SACS-002 groups all third-party vendors into five classifications. Your classification determines which controls you must implement and which certificate tier you need. Understanding your classification is the first step in scoping your compliance project.

Classification Description Certificate Required
General Vendors providing non-IT goods or services with minimal digital interaction with Aramco systems. Examples include office supply vendors or logistics companies with basic email contact. CCC
Outsourced Infrastructure Vendors hosting or managing IT infrastructure on behalf of Aramco, including cloud providers, managed service providers, and data center operators handling Aramco workloads. CCC+
Customized Software Vendors developing, maintaining, or deploying custom software that interfaces with Aramco systems, databases, or APIs. Includes ERP integrators and bespoke application developers. CCC+
Network Connectivity Vendors with direct or VPN-based network connections to Aramco systems, including ISPs providing dedicated links and companies with site-to-site tunnels to Aramco networks. CCC
Critical Data Processor Vendors that store, process, or transmit Aramco classified data -- including financial records, employee data, engineering schematics, or exploration data. This is the most scrutinized classification. CCC+

Important: A single vendor can fall into multiple classifications simultaneously. If you provide managed hosting and develop custom software for Aramco, you must satisfy controls for both Outsourced Infrastructure and Customized Software -- which means the union of all applicable specific controls under CCC+.

SACS-002 Control Areas: What the Standard Actually Requires

The SACS-002 standard organizes its controls into clearly defined domains. Understanding these domains helps you map your existing security posture to the standard and identify gaps before the audit.

General Controls (24 Controls -- All Vendors)

Every vendor, regardless of classification, must implement these controls. They cover foundational cybersecurity hygiene:

Specific Controls (Up to 62 Additional Controls -- CCC+ Vendors)

CCC+ vendors face additional controls tailored to their classification. These extend the general controls into deeper technical territory:

The Infrastructure Challenge Most Vendors Underestimate

Here is where most CCC compliance projects go sideways. Vendors read the SACS-002 standard, draft policies, and prepare documentation -- then discover that the majority of the 24 general controls (and nearly all of the specific controls) require technical implementation, not just written policies.

Consider what a typical small or mid-size enterprise (SME) must deploy to satisfy just the general controls:

For an SME with 20-50 employees, building and maintaining this infrastructure from scratch is a significant project. You need a mail server or managed email service, a firewall appliance or cloud firewall, a VPN concentrator, an endpoint protection platform, a file hosting solution with encryption, and the expertise to configure all of it correctly. Then you need to produce audit evidence -- screenshots, configuration exports, policy documents -- proving every control is implemented.

The reality: Most vendors spend more time and money building compliant infrastructure than they do on the policies and documentation combined. The infrastructure is the compliance.

Why Pre-Built Compliant Infrastructure Changes the Equation

This is precisely why purpose-built CCC-compliant infrastructure packages exist. Instead of assembling a dozen different services, configuring each one to meet SACS-002 specifications, and producing your own audit documentation, you deploy a single integrated environment where every component is already configured to meet the standard.

A well-designed CCC infrastructure package should include:

This approach transforms CCC compliance from a multi-month infrastructure project into a deployment measured in days. Your team focuses on the governance controls -- policies, risk assessments, training -- while the infrastructure controls are handled by the platform.

The Audit Process: What to Expect

Once you have implemented the required controls, the CCC audit process follows a structured path:

  1. Self-assessment: You complete Aramco's self-assessment questionnaire, mapping your controls to each TPC requirement and attaching evidence.
  2. Document submission: Policies, procedures, screenshots, configuration exports, and training records are submitted to the Aramco-authorized assessor.
  3. Technical review: The assessor reviews your evidence against SACS-002 requirements. They may request additional documentation or clarification.
  4. Remediation (if needed): If gaps are identified, you receive a findings report with a remediation timeline. You must close findings and resubmit evidence.
  5. Certificate issuance: Once all controls are verified, Aramco issues the CCC or CCC+ certificate. The certificate is valid for a defined period (typically one to two years) and must be renewed.

Common Reasons Vendors Fail the CCC Audit

Based on patterns across the Aramco vendor ecosystem, these are the most frequent causes of audit failure:

Getting Started: Your Path to CCC Compliance

The path to Aramco CCC certification does not have to be overwhelming. Start by identifying your vendor classification, scope the applicable controls, and then make a critical decision: build the infrastructure yourself or deploy a pre-built compliant environment.

For most SMEs, the pre-built approach saves months of work and eliminates the risk of misconfigured infrastructure causing audit failures. The governance work -- writing policies, conducting risk assessments, training employees -- still requires your attention, but it is far more manageable when the technical controls are already in place.

For a detailed look at how CCC and CCC+ differ in practice, read our CCC vs. CCC+ comparison.

Skip the Infrastructure Headache

MassiveGRID's Aramco CCC-Compliant Infrastructure Package delivers every technical control required by SACS-002 in a single managed deployment. Private email with SPF/DKIM/DMARC, managed firewall, IPSec VPN, encrypted file hosting, endpoint protection, MFA-enforced RDP, and DDoS protection -- all pre-configured with audit evidence documentation ready for your assessor.

Explore the full CCC-compliant infrastructure package →