SAMA API Security Assessment Services
Ensure your APIs meet SAMA’s regulatory and security standards. Secure your open-banking and fintech APIs today.
The Saudi Central Bank (formerly, Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority) is central to securing APIs and open-banking in Saudi Arabia through its introduction of the Open Banking Framework and regulatory mandates like the OpenID FAPI (Financial-grade API).
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SAMA API Security Assessment comes within the SAMA Cybersecurity Framework (SAMA CSF) which mandates placing risk-based controls across governance, risk management, operations and third-party security for member organisations in the financial sector, i.e., banks, fintechs, and payment service providers.
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The launch of newer regulations like the SAMA API Security Assessment by the SAMA CSF strictly aims to ensure API (open-banking) security by tightening measures around client authorization and data sharing procedures. Using profiles like baseline, advanced, and newer FAPI 2.0 can help harden protection layers. These, in turn, ensure robust, traceable, and secure API access when undertaking open banking and other sensitive banking operations.
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While these stringent requirements assure strong cybersecurity posture through continuous security monitoring, they can simultaneously cause compliance burdens in the financial sector in terms of:
- Cybersecurity frameworks that mandate comprehensive security controls enforced by SAMA’s Cyber Trust and Cybersecurity Circulars.
- Compliance auditing and reporting by hiring third-party auditors that undertake SAMA-driven audits requiring significant proactive investments.
- Data localization requirements that complicate the compliance landscape for banks further.
- Open banking implementation that gives rise to technical challenges to create massive transformations for an organization.
The Open-Bank Program, one of the prime initiatives of the Fintech Strategy, and launched by the Saudi Central Bank, serves to support the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals. Fostering economic growth and safeguarding financial and monetary stability are the prime agendas in these planes. That being said, the Open-Bank Program is also considered to be a part of the broader Financial Sector Development Program to achieve Saudi’s 2030 Vision.
Key API Threats & Pain-Points
 Under Saudi Arabia’s SAMA-introduced Open-Banking Framework, key API threats to look for chiefly include data breaches primarily brought on by unauthorized access and misuse of sensitive financial information. Adjunct to these are the significant challenges that the financial entities face here when attempting to comply with this regulatory standard.
Integrating a legacy system like the Open-Banking Framework into their respective financial services and systems can indeed pose difficulties besides:
- Maintaining compliance
- Managing API security
- Impact performance in terms of services
- Challenges when standardizing to the expected requirements of the framework
What Our SAMA API Security Assessment Checklist Covers
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API endpoint inventory & classification
Identifying and documenting all APIs that include known, unknown, and deprecated end points, classifying them based on data sensitivity, target audience, and business criticality.. Should also ensure securing or removing all deprecated endpoints. -
Authentication/authorization review (OAuth/OIDC/FAPI)
Enforcing strong and standard authentication mechanisms, such as OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, JWT, etc., on all endpoints. Implementing secure handling of JWT tokens, i.e., Signature Validation, Claim Validation, etc. the principle of least privilege. -
Input validation & injection/API misuse testing
Ensure strict implementation of input validation across all parameters, including query strings, payloads, and headers against injection attacks, validating inputs against defined schema, and sanitizing every data that the users provide before these are stored or processed. -
Privilege escalation & broken object references
Undertaking a dedicated testing to identify vulnerabilities that include BOLA (Broken Object-Level Authorization) and BFLA (Broken Function-Level Authorization), considered among the top OWASP API Security risks.
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Third-party/partner API integration review
Establishing and enforcing security requirements for every third-party integration. Should verify that partner APIs meet internal security requirements, including, but not limited to developing plans for coordinating remediations as felt necessary. -
Rate limiting, throttling & DoS resilience
Involves adopting measures that range from enforcing hard usage caps to throttling or delaying excess service requests to prevent API abuse, DoS (Denial of Service), and brute-force attacks. Employ rate limits to specific API endpoints. -
Logging, auditing & consent tracking (for open banking)
Enabling centralized-cum-secure logging of all API activities. These include request data, headers, attempts at authentication, etc. Logging practices should align with data privacy regulations, specifically SAMA by minimizing PII exposure to the maximum. -
Remediation roadmap aligned with SAMA control
To prioritize API vulnerabilities detected based on their risk level and potential impact on financial services and data. Developing a clear remediation plan that traces identified flaws and implemented controls to the specific requirements of the SAMA Cybersecurity Framework.
Our Brief Service Modules Breakdown for SAMA API Security Assessment
- API Discovery & Scope Mapping: Catagorizing all internal and external APIs.
- Security & Compliance Assessment: Undertaking API architecture reviews that align with SAMA Open-Banking/API framework.
- API Penetration Testing: Dynamic test execution to check for injections, broken auth, and business logic abuses.
- Third-Party & Partner API Risk Review: Reviewing partner API’s security posture to prevent data breach risks.
- Reporting & Remediation Roadmap: Delivers actionable findings mapped to SAMA cybersecurity framework controls and compliance obligations.
SAMA API Assessment Benefits for Your Institution
Undertaking SAMA API security assessment for your financial institution helps you in a variety pf ways.:
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Aligns your API strategy with SAMA’s Open-Banking Framework
This comes through adherence with specific technical and operational standards, which will make way for a secure and interoperable data exchange.
Mitigate API-Based Data Breach Risk
Adopting a multi-layered security approach throughout the API lifecycle helps mitigate API-driven data breach risks.
Enhance Customer Trust
Risk-based API security assessment that goes in accordance with SAMA’s open-banking framework helps enhance and retain customer trust for the financial services you render.
Smooth Regulatory Audits in the Kingdom
Integrating both compliance and risk management into your daily operations through a SAMA-led API assessment results in a streamlined regulatory audit process.
Curious to know where your SAMA API compliance stands? Gain clarity with our SAMA-led API Security Assessment.
Why Wattlecorp Stands Out As Your Trusted SAMA API Security Assessment Partner
All-round protection for your API endpoints at a single click
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- Deep experience in KSA fintech and regulatory standards.
- Experienced and qualified technical team with expertise in API pen-testingÂ
- Holistic approach that combines compliance, security, and remediation solutions
- Strong regional presence with Arabic-language support for meeting SAMA CSF compliance requirements.
- Proven expertise in undertaking VAPT, aligned with OWASP/API top threats
Other than the API penetration testing listed above, our VAPT services in Saudi Arabia are also targeted to securing your vital systems, network, and applications by detecting, addressing, and mitigating inherent vulnerabilities therein.
Eager to take your API Security to the next level? Start a SAMA API Security Assessment
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Within the broader SAMA Cybersecurity Framework, the SAMA API Security Assessment involves extensively evaluating an organization’s API to ensure it stays compliant with this major cybersecurity regulatory entity in Saudi Arabia.
All regulated institutions under Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) should adhere to the SAMA API Standard.
Organizations coming within the regulated category include:
- All commercial and digital banks (local, international, and Islamic banks) operating within the SAMA CSF.
- Firms offering services like micro-lending, leasing, and payment provision
- Organizations undertaking insurance and reinsurance activities
The SAMA API Security Assessment for APIs (both internal and external), and third party APIs typically covers:
- Looking for security malconfiguration
- Authorization and authentication
- Preventing rate limiting and abuse
- Data protection and encryption
- Enforcing Input validation and sanitization
- Penetration testing to identify, address, and mitigate potential API vulnerabilities based on their impact and severity.
- Undertaking compliance audits
- Documenting and reporting audit findings
The timeline for the overall API security assessment per SAMA regulations typically takes about 1 to 4 weeks. In other words, it depends on the scope and complexity of the APIs tested, and includes penetration testing with remediation down to reporting, However, in certain cases, it can take more than a month for specific procedures like final remediation. Nevertheless, it is the efficiency in which the security assessment is planned and carried out that determines the entire duration.Â
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Adhering to mandatory regulatory requirements like the SAMA CSF, NCA ECC, PDPL, etc., is a mandatory requirement for every Saudi Arabian organization. Besides becoming compliant, these also require you to secure sensitive data that APIs process. If you fail to abide by the rules laid down there, you’re likely to experience a series of consequences for your financial institution. Depending on the depth of failure or violation, you may face anything from hefty fines to rigorous imprisonments (with fine). Reputational damage and loss of trust follow accordingly.Â
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