International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) Cyber Audit
Independent assurance for regulated entities in GIFT IFSCA
Key highlights
- Independent IFSCA Cyber Audit, March 2025 guidelines
- Coverage across governance, framework, third party risk, awareness, and audit
- Findings prioritised by business impact, built for decision makers
- Regulator ready audit report and audit certificate
- CERT-In Empanelled, ISO 27001 Certified
The challenges Indian businesses face
Annual audit window is short: Every GIFT IFSC entity must complete an independent cyber security audit each financial year and file it with IFSCA within 90 days of year end. Internal sign offs or informal reviews are not accepted.
Limited auditor eligibility: IFSCA allows only CERT-In empanelled auditors or qualified independent professionals with recognised certifications. The number of IFSC aware auditors is limited. Audit slots get booked early.
Five components, not just IT controls: The guidelines cover governance, framework, third party risk, awareness, and audit. Each has defined expectations. A standard IT audit or VAPT report will not meet the requirement. The audit has to follow the IFSCA structure.
Cross border exposure raises the stakes: IFSC entities handle global clients and multi-jurisdiction transactions. Weak cyber controls affect more than compliance. Banks, custodians, and counterparties take notice.
Incident reporting timelines are tight: IFSCA requires incident reporting within defined timelines. Many firms have policies but have not tested if teams can meet them under pressure.
Board level accountability is direct: The board and senior management are accountable for cyber risk under the guidelines. They need an independent view they can stand behind with the regulator, not an internal note.
The Matrix3D solution
Governance and oversight body review: We review who sits on your oversight body, how the CISO or designated officer is positioned, whether cyber policies are board approved, and how cyber risk is tracked at leadership level.
Cyber security framework assessment: We check your asset inventory, information security policy, network and endpoint controls, identity and access, data protection, patching, VAPT cycle, and incident handling against the guideline requirements.
Third party and vendor risk review: We review key service providers, contractual cyber clauses, dependency risks, and how you assess and monitor critical vendors over time.
Awareness and training review: We look at staff training, phishing tests, and how incidents are reported internally under the awareness and communication requirements.
Incident readiness and reporting validation: We assess monitoring, detection, response, and recovery. We also check if your process can meet IFSCA reporting timelines in practice.
Audit report and certificate preparation: We deliver the audit report and certificate in the IFSCA format, ready for submission within 90 days and for board review.
Governance and oversight body review: We review who sits on your oversight body, how the CISO or designated officer is positioned, whether cyber policies are board approved, and how cyber risk is tracked at leadership level.
Cyber security framework assessment: We check your asset inventory, information security policy, network and endpoint controls, identity and access, data protection, patching, VAPT cycle, and incident handling against the guideline requirements.
What you gain
Clear compliance visibility
A direct view of your cyber posture against IFSCA requirements across all five components.
Focused risk prioritisation
Risk ratings linked to business processes help you focus effort where it matters most.
Stronger governance and documentation
Policies, ownership, and records are tightened so they stand up to audit and regulatory review
Improved incident readiness
Gaps in monitoring, response, and reporting timelines are identified before a real incident tests them
Regulator ready submission
The audit report and certificate are structured for submission within the 90-day window and for board use
Continuous improvement built in
A clear baseline and structure to improve your cyber posture year on year in line with IFSCA expectations
Industries we support
- Banking units and IFSC banking companies
- Capital markets intermediaries
- Fund management entities
- Insurance, reinsurance, and insurance intermediaries in IFSC
- FinTech entities and payment service providers
- Aircraft and ship leasing entities
- Bullion market participants
- IFSC holding companies and family investment funds
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Why choose Matrix3D
We cover all five IFSCA guideline components in one engagement. Not a narrow review of selected controls.
We work off evidence. Policies, configurations, logs, and operating records. Findings hold up under regulatory scrutiny.
Risk is tied to your business processes. Remediation aligns with how your IFSC operations run.
Reports and certificates are issued in the IFSCA format, ready for submission within the 90-day window. No rework needed.
We bring CERT-In empanelment, ISO 27001 certification, and 29 plus years of enterprise security experience to each audit.