Guidelines on Cloud Computing Services

FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMISSION
GUIDELINES
CLOUD COMPUTING SERVICES
30 November 2023

1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Financial Services Commission, Mauritius (‘FSC’) has, during its offsite and
onsite monitoring, noted that licensees are increasingly using cloud computing services (as defined in the Appendix to this document) to access various types of software/hardware tools and applications.
1.2 These Guidelines issued pursuant to the powers conferred to the FSC under section
7(1)(a) of the Financial Services Act (‘FSA’), aim at providing general guidance to licensees of the FSC (‘Licensees’) regarding the use of cloud computing services.
1.3 In addition to ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act,
Cybersecurity and Cybercrime Act 2021 and the Information and Communication Technologies Act , licensees are required to comply with the provisions of these Guidelines, while taking into consideration the nature, scale and complexity of their business activities, environment and risks respectively.
2.0 CLOUD STRATEGY AND POLICY FORMULATION
2.1 Licensees which are making use of cloud computing services shall implement a
risk-based cloud strategy and policy which addresses the following aspects:
i. the Information Technology (IT) assets under consideration, the cloud￾based service being acquired and the cloud deployment model being used.
For instance, licensees shall determine whether a privately managed cloud infrastructure on a private network is suitable for hosting customer information;
ii. the underlying rationale, including anticipated benefits and costs, as well as
the associated risks;

iii. the cloud risk management framework, including cyber security and data
protection in accordance with the legal and regulatory requirements in place; and
iv. the appropriate skills and expertise of internal staff (including on-going
training) for a successful running of the cloud-based service deployment and on-going monitoring.
2.2 The cloud strategy and policy shall be approved by the Board of directors and
reviewed, on a regular basis (i.e. at least once every year or, as may be required in anticipation of or subsequent to any material event).
3.0 CLOUD RISK MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
3.1 Licensees shall establish and maintain, at all times, a robust risk management
framework to inter-alia identify, assess, manage, mitigate and report the risks associated with the adoption of cloud computing services.
3.2 Such risk management framework shall be well-documented and take into
consideration:
i. the vulnerabilities and benefits, including the adequacy and sustainability of
the cloud computing services and the implementation impact and/or any changes required thereto;
ii. the cybersecurity, IT and concentration risks which are relevant to the cloud
service provider and its geographical locations (for example, through data encryption, access control, network security, and incident response processes);
iii. the criticality of the IT assets and sensitivity of personal data;

iv. the evaluation and appropriateness of the skills and expertise of internal staff;
v. the identification of the roles and responsibilities of the licensee and the cloud
service provider under the outsourcing arrangement;
vi. the impact of possible risk events, including the disruption of services, failure
of the cloud service provider, exit and implications of transferring services in￾house or to an alternate service provider;
vii. the adequacy of the business contingency plan and exit strategy, including
the interoperability and portability of data and services; and
viii. the relevant legal and regulatory frameworks.
3.3 The risk management framework shall be aligned with the materiality assessment
framework (refer to Section 4.0 below).
4.0 CLOUD MATERIALITY ASSESSMENT
4.1 Licensees shall assess the materiality of the cloud computing services, taking into
consideration the following factors:
i. the costs of the cloud computing services and IT assets, as part of total
operational cost;
ii. the potential impact of the services on current and projected earnings,
solvency, liquidity, funding and capital;
iii. the cost of transferring services in-house or migrating to an alternate service
provider, if required;

iv. the potential impact of any unforeseen event, including any confidentiality
breach or a disruption of the services, even a failure of the cloud service provider, which could have a direct or indirect impact on the licensee and its clients; and
v. the ability to maintain adequate internal controls and meet regulatory
requirements and business continuity, including in case of any operational failure by the cloud service provider.
4.2 Licensees shall notify the FSC in writing, at least 15 business days prior to the
deployment of any material cloud computing services.
5.0 CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS
5.1 Licensees shall enter into a written contractual arrangement with the selected cloud
service provider/s regarding the cloud computing services being acquired. The written contractual arrangement shall contain relevant clauses pertaining to the cloud computing services, including:
i. a clear definition of the roles and responsibilities of the licensee and the cloud
service provider, including the incident management process and dispute resolution process;
ii. the obligation of the cloud service provider to provide adequate information
and access to data storage to the licensee, including in the event of changes in the location where the data is being stored or processed, or any change in the contractual arrangements;
iii. the obligation of the cloud service provider to provide a reasonable notice in
the event of change/s in location where the data is being stored or processed or any change in the contractual arrangements;

iv. the right of the licensee to terminate the contractual arrangements where,
inter-alia, the licensee has concerns about the cloud service provider and the post exit strategy is agreed upon; and in this respect, the obligation to ensure that there is a smooth exit and transition to a new cloud service provider or the licensee itself; and
v. the arrangements in place to ensure compliance at all times with the relevant
laws and regulations of Mauritius.
5.2 The cloud service providers may subcontract their services to another service
provider. The licensees shall, in that respect, ensure that:
i. the cloud service provider informs them within a reasonable notice period on
any new material subcontracting agreements or any changes in the existing arrangements; and
ii. the subcontractor is subject to appropriate due diligence, controls, and
information security requirements that are relevant to the nature and underlying risks to the use of its services.
5.3 Notwithstanding any provision of the sub-contracting agreement, the cloud service
providers shall retain full legal liability for the cloud computing services acquired by the licensee.
6.0 DUE DILIGENCE ON CLOUD SERVICE PROVIDERS
6.1 Whenever any function is being outsourced to a cloud service provider, licensees are
required to conduct appropriate due diligence to ensure that the delegated cloud service provider is fit and proper, has the capacity to fulfil the delegated/outsourced function and has the ability to comply with data protection and confidentiality requirements set out in the laws prevailing in Mauritius.

6.2 Moreover, licensees shall conduct due diligence on cloud service providers prior to
entering into any outsourcing arrangement and accepting their services respectively.
6.3 The due diligence shall be well-documented and inter-alia include:
i. the identification and verification of the cloud service provider through
background screening;
ii. the appropriateness of the cloud service provider's risk management and
internal control systems, information security and data protection capabilities, as well as security controls in place, while taking into account the findings of vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, audits, and/or other controls put in place by the cloud service provider, as appropriate;
iii. the extent to which the cloud service provider complies with the applicable
Mauritian laws and international standards governing data protection, confidentiality and information security, including the ISO/IEC 27001 standard1 ;
iv. the readiness and ability of the cloud service provider to uphold its obligations
under adverse conditions, such as, inter alia, in the event of a cyberattack or data theft; and
v. the ability of the cloud service provider to recover outsourced systems and IT
services within the recovery time objective.
6.4 The extent of the due diligence to be performed, including the audit requirements,
shall be commensurate with the materiality of the cloud computing services and the level of reliance that the licensee places on the cloud service provider. 1 https://www.iso.org/isoiec-27001-information-security.html

7.0 CLOUD SECURITY AND DATA MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
7.1 Licensees shall establish and maintain a cloud security management framework
which would allow them to mitigate any cyber-risk and data vulnerability that may occur due to the use of the cloud computing services.
7.2 The cloud security management framework shall consider, but not limited to, the
following elements:
i. information provided by the cloud service provider on its procedures, controls
and audit reviews relating to the management and monitoring of the security system of the cloud computing services and infrastructure, including how the shared data are used, stored, transferred and/or processed in the cloud computing system;
ii. information provided by the cloud service provider on the countries whereby
data are stored and information about the safeguards in place;
iii. assurance from the cloud service provider that data-in-transit within the cloud
infrastructure is secure. The assurance shall include data transferred between data centres located in different geographical regions;
iv. information on the security and vulnerabilities of the cloud service provider, as
assessed by a third-party, and duly provided to the licensee by the cloud service provider. The latter shall also indicate to the licensee the timeline for its response when a security vulnerability is identified;
v. information about the cloud service provider’s resilience capabilities including
how quickly data can be restored (without alteration) from a backup, in the event of an incident or major data loss; and

vi. the encryption key management process put in place by the cloud service
provider to ensure that data is segregated, sufficiently protected and can be clearly identified. The encryption keys and channelling of data shall be stored separately, whilst considering the materiality of IT assets, the cloud deployment model and risks involved.
7.3 The security controls shall be aligned with the nature and materiality of the cloud
computing services, the criticality and sensitivity of information, as well as the classification and location of the data.
8.0 CONTINGENCY PLANS AND EXIT STRATEGIES
8.1 Licensees shall ensure that the cloud service provider has a comprehensive and well￾documented contingency plan, allowing for quick recovery and continuity of
operations in case of unforeseen events.
8.2 The contingency plan and exit strategy, referred to in paragraph 8.3, shall include
the following elements:
i. business continuity requirements, such as disaster or incident recovery plans to
mitigate the loss of data, whilst ensuring that the cloud service provider has adequate resources to resume activities, after such events; and
ii. adequate system resiliency and network redundancy for the purpose of
continuity of operations.
8.3 Licensees shall have a well-designed exit strategy which shall, at a minimum, include
the following:
i. agreed process and procedures on termination of agreement with the cloud
service provider, including reasonable timeframe for the cloud service provider to delete all data of the licensee;

ii. procedures for the cloud service provider to transfer services to another service
provider or back to the licensee; and
iii. identification of alternative solutions to be adopted for business continuity.
8.4 The contingency plans and exit strategies shall be reviewed at least once a year, to
ensure that they remain adequate and effective.
9.0 AUDIT REVIEWS
9.1 Licensees shall follow a risk-based approach to the implementation of on-going
controls and monitoring of the cloud service providers, whilst considering the materiality of the cloud computing services and the IT assets.
9.2 The scope and frequency of these on-going controls and monitoring shall be
organised on a consistent basis.
9.3 Licensees shall, at least once a year, conduct a review of all material cloud computing
services and ensure that, where appropriate:
i. the cloud service providers are, in turn, subject to regular audits and testing of
their procedures; and
ii. such audit is carried out by persons having the appropriate skills and
knowledge to properly assess the relevant cloud computing services and perform effective and relevant audits.
10.0 BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND SENIOR MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES
10.1 The Board of directors of the licensees shall ensure that it is not discharged of its
responsibilities upon any delegation or outsourcing arrangement to a cloud service provider. It is accordingly responsible and liable for:

i. approving the cloud strategy and policy on cloud computing services’
arrangements;
ii. ensuring that the policy is aligned with the cloud strategy, the cloud
deployment model and the risk appetite of the licensee;
iii. ensuring that the cloud risk management framework and adequate controls /
security arrangements both in-premise and on cloud are in place;
iv. approving the criteria to assess the materiality of the cloud computing services,
the material cloud computing services and the contingency strategy and exit plans, as appropriate;
v. ensuring that the business contingency plans and exit strategies are efficiently
deployed in the event of any critical issue, unforeseen event and incident encountered with the adoption of the cloud computing services;
vi. ensuring that the implementation of cloud computing services complies with
the record keeping obligations of the licensees, in accordance with section 29 of the FSA, including the maintenance of an updated physical or electronic register of information in relation to such services;
vii. ensuring that the licensee has the available resources and capabilities to use
the cloud computing services, whilst providing adequate training to the relevant staff for an effective oversight of the cloud computing services; and
viii. ensuring that the Board of directors and its audit committee receive a
comprehensive periodic report relevant to the use of the cloud computing services.

10.2 The senior management of the licensees shall, in practice, subsequently provide
effective oversight on the deployment of the cloud computing services and ensure that:
i. the cloud service providers are selected based on the licensee’s needs and that
proper due diligence, risk and materiality assessments are carried out prior to the adoption of cloud computing services;
ii. the cloud policy and strategy approved by the Board of directors are duly
documented;
iii. the design of the cloud computing arrangements, the security architecture
deployed in the cloud computing environment, the cloud risk management framework, and other internal controls and procedures are in accordance with principles of sound corporate governance and risk management;
iv. there is a clear delineation of responsibility and accountability between the
licensee and the cloud service provider, and that responsibilities of the cloud service provider are duly scrutinised by the licensee to ensure compliance;
v. an independent evaluation of the cloud security management and data
protection arrangements put in place, on premise and in the cloud environment, are carried out on a regular basis, in accordance with section 9.0; and
vi. there is an on-going monitoring of performance of the cloud computing
services and timely identification, escalation as well as prompt reporting of incidents (including unauthorised access or breach of confidentiality and security, directly or indirectly, by a cloud service provider) to the Board, and to the FSC (by completing the template specified in the Schedule), in the eventuality of material incidents.

11.0 RETRIEVING INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS
11.1 Licensees shall ensure that at any point in time, they are in a position to retrieve any
information or document stored by the cloud service provider.
11.2 Licensees and their Board of directors shall ensure that the use of cloud computing
services does not prevent them from complying with any legal and regulatory requirements as well as any obligation towards their clients.
12.0 TRANSITIONAL PROVISION
12.1 Any licensee which, before the coming into operation of this Guidelines, was making
use of cloud computing services shall, within 6 months of the issue of these Guidelines, apply the provisions laid out therein.

SCHEDULE
Cloud Computing Services
(Material Incident Reporting)

1. Licensee Details
   Date and time of notification to the FSC
   Full name of licensee
   Name of officer reporting the material incident

• Designation and department
• Contact details (email, mobile, office phone)
  Name of officer responsible for restoration of the systems and functions
• Designation and department
• Contact details (email, mobile, office phone)

2. Initial Details of Material Incident:
   Date and time of material incident occurrence and detection Who discovered the material incident? (e.g. third-party service provider, customer, employee) Nature of material incident and affected areas:
   (a) Outage of IT system (e.g. back-end systems) (b) Signs of cyber-attack (e.g. Hacking or malware infection against the licensee’s system, web defacement, distributed denial of service attacks) (c) Theft or Loss of Information (e.g. sensitive/important/customer information stolen or missing from business locations) (d) Unavailability of Infrastructure or work premises (e.g. Power blackout, telecommunication linkages down) (e) Others

(f) Where are the affected systems located (on premises, on cloud etc.)? (g) What actions have been taken by the licensee? (h) What incidence responses are planned?
3. Impact (examples listed below are not exhaustive):
(a) Impact on business (e.g. product offerings, services etc.)
(b) Impact on stakeholders (e.g. affected customers, service providers etc.) (c) Financial and market impact (e.g. monetary losses etc.) (d) Reputational impact – is the material incident likely to attract media attention? (e) Regulatory and Legal impact (f) Other impacts

APPENDIX
In these Guidelines -
“Cloud computing” is a broad term which encompasses access to a shared pool of on-demand configurable computing resources over the internet. These resources take various forms where minimal management effort or service provider interaction are required. The cloud computing services are offered in three main “cloud service models”, namely:
a. Software as a Service (SaaS) - an application software hosted by a third-party provider and delivered to customers over the internet as a service. The application software typically takes the form of a standardised off-the-shelf application, which is free or paid via a subscription, and accessed over the internet from any device. Users have only permission to the configuration settings specific to the application; b. Platform as a Service (PaaS) - the usage of computing platform where users may develop and run their own online applications using the tools, database and other providers’ resources available. Users have only control over their own applications which runs on the platform; and
c. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - the usage of computer
infrastructure resources – whether physical or virtual servers, networking, storage, and data centre space. Users have only control over the operating system, storage levels and specific networking components. “Cloud computing services” or “cloud-based services” refer to the services provided from the usage of cloud computing against a “pay-per use” basis. These cloud services are provided through the following different deployment models:

a. Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is owned and operated by the service provider and is accessible on a public network; b. Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely by a single organisation, either physically managed on-site data centre(s) (on-premises) or externally by a third party and hosted on a private network; and
c. Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is built on a private
cloud architecture with strategic combination of public cloud services. It therefore retains some unique characteristics of the two infrastructures which are interconnected. “Cloud infrastructure” refers to the essential characteristics of cloud computing, which may comprise of a physical layer and an abstraction layer. The physical layer consists of the hardware resources that are necessary to support the provision of the cloud service, and typically includes servers, storage and network components. On the other hand, the abstraction layer consists of the software deployed across the physical layer. “Cloud service provider” refers to the entity providing or hosting the cloud service models. “Licensee” has the same meaning as in the FSA. “Material cloud service” refers to any cloud computing services adopted by a licensee whose interruption is likely to have a significant impact on:
a. the licensee’s ability to continue in business and/or cause a significant disruption in the business operations of the licensee; b. the licensee’s ability to meet its regulatory responsibilities and/or the conditions of its licence;
c. the licensee’s ability to manage risks including risks relating to
any unauthorised access or disclosure, loss or theft of customer information; or

d. any critical or sensitive assets of the licensee including IT assets. “Outsourcing” means an arrangement whereby licensees engage a third-party service provider to perform activities on an ongoing basis that would normally be undertaken by the licensees themselves. FSC House, 54 Cybercity, Ebene, Republic of Mauritius Tel: (230) 403 7000 Fax: (230) 467 7172 E-mail: mail@fscmauritius.org, Website: www.fscmauritius.org