The Definitive Cybersecurity Operations Encyclopedia¶
50 Chapters. 27 Interactive Simulations. 16 Hands-On Labs. 300+ Benchmark Controls. 70 Purple Team Exercises.
Free. Vendor-neutral. Ever-growing.
By the Numbers¶
50 Chapters · 7 Parts
26 Interactive Sims
15 Hands-on Labs
300+ Benchmark Controls
400+ Glossary Terms
306 Knowledge Graph Concepts
What Makes Nexus SecOps Different¶
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Knowledge Graph Navigation
306 interconnected concepts with 396 prerequisite edges. The graph is the curriculum — use the Adaptive Path Generator to get a personalized reading order based on what you already know.
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27 Interactive MicroSims
Self-contained browser tools — no install, no login. Alert triage, CVSS calculator, Windows Registry forensics, ADCS attack paths, RAG security tester, Purple Team Scorecard, and 21 more.
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300+ Benchmark Controls
Nexus SecOps controls mapped across NIST CSF 2.0, CIS v8, ISO 27001, NIST 800-53, MITRE ATT&CK/D3FEND, and NIST AI RMF. Maturity levels 0-5 with evidence checklists.
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200+ Detection Queries
Production-ready KQL and SPL queries mapped to ATT&CK techniques with false-positive guidance, Sigma rules, and a 100+ hypothesis threat hunt library.
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50 Chapter Quizzes + Exam Simulator
15 scenario-based questions per chapter. 60-question adaptive exam simulator with domain breakdown, retake-wrong-answers mode, and performance analytics.
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Runbooks, Playbooks & Templates
10 IR playbooks (ransomware, BEC, cloud breach, insider, supply chain, data breach, zero-day, cryptojacking, ransomware negotiation, AI incident response), runbook templates, and policy/SOP templates — production-ready.
Course Structure¶
Part I — SecOps Foundations (Chapters 1-15)¶
| Chapter | Topic | Lab | Quiz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ch 1 | Introduction to SecOps | — | Quiz |
| Ch 2 | Telemetry & Logging | Lab 1 | Quiz |
| Ch 3 | SIEM & Data Lake Basics | — | Quiz |
| Ch 4 | Detection Engineering | Lab 2 | Quiz |
| Ch 5 | Triage & Investigation | Lab 3 | Quiz |
| Ch 6 | Threat Intelligence | Lab 4 | Quiz |
| Ch 7 | SOAR & Automation | — | Quiz |
| Ch 8 | Incident Response | Lab 5 | Quiz |
| Ch 9 | AI/ML in SOC | — | Quiz |
| Ch 10 | LLM Copilots & Guardrails | Lab 6 | Quiz |
| Ch 11 | Evaluation & Metrics | Lab 7 | Quiz |
| Ch 12 | Compliance, AI Ethics & Risk | — | Quiz |
| Ch 13 | Security Governance, Privacy & Risk | — | Quiz |
| Ch 14 | Operating Model, Staffing & SLAs | — | Quiz |
| Ch 15 | Resilience, Tabletops & Learning | — | Quiz |
Part II — Offensive Security (Chapters 16-21)¶
| Chapter | Topic | Lab | Quiz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ch 16 | Penetration Testing | Lab 8 | Quiz |
| Ch 17 | Red Team Operations | — | Quiz |
| Ch 18 | Malware Analysis | — | Quiz |
| Ch 19 | OSINT & Reconnaissance | — | Quiz |
| Ch 20 | Cloud Attack & Defense | — | Quiz |
| Ch 21 | OT/ICS/SCADA Security | — | Quiz |
Part III — Threat Landscape (Chapters 22-26)¶
| Chapter | Topic | Lab | Quiz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ch 22 | Threat Actor Encyclopedia | — | Quiz |
| Ch 23 | Ransomware Deep Dive | — | Quiz |
| Ch 24 | Supply Chain Attacks | — | Quiz |
| Ch 25 | Social Engineering | — | Quiz |
| Ch 26 | Insider Threats | — | Quiz |
Part IV — Defense in Depth (Chapters 27-34)¶
| Chapter | Topic | Lab | Quiz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ch 27 | Digital Forensics | — | Quiz |
| Ch 28 | Advanced Incident Response | — | Quiz |
| Ch 29 | Vulnerability Management | — | Quiz |
| Ch 30 | Application Security | — | Quiz |
| Ch 31 | Network Security Architecture | — | Quiz |
| Ch 32 | Applied Cryptography | — | Quiz |
| Ch 33 | Identity & Access Security | — | Quiz |
| Ch 34 | Mobile & IoT Security | — | Quiz |
Part V — Advanced Practice (Chapters 35-40)¶
| Chapter | Topic | Lab | Quiz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ch 35 | DevSecOps Pipeline | — | Quiz |
| Ch 36 | Purple Team Operations | Lab 9 | Quiz |
| Ch 37 | AI Security | — | Quiz |
| Ch 38 | Advanced Threat Hunting | Lab 10 | Quiz |
| Ch 39 | Zero Trust Implementation | — | Quiz |
| Ch 40 | Security Program Leadership | — | Quiz |
Part VI — Advanced Offensive Security (Chapters 41-48)¶
| Chapter | Topic | Lab | Quiz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ch 41 | Red Team Methodology | — | Quiz |
| Ch 42 | Advanced OSINT & Attack Surface | — | Quiz |
| Ch 43 | Network Penetration Testing | — | Quiz |
| Ch 44 | Web Application Pentesting | — | Quiz |
| Ch 45 | Active Directory Red Teaming | — | Quiz |
| Ch 46 | Cloud & Container Red Teaming | — | Quiz |
| Ch 47 | Physical & Social Engineering | — | Quiz |
| Ch 48 | Exploit Development Concepts | — | Quiz |
Part VII — Intelligence & Emerging Threats (Chapters 49-50)¶
| Chapter | Topic | Lab | Quiz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ch 49 | Threat Intelligence Operations | — | Quiz |
| Ch 50 | Adversarial AI & LLM Security | — | Quiz |
Framework Coverage¶
| Framework | Scope | Mapping |
|---|---|---|
| NIST CSF 2.0 | 6 functions, 22 categories | View → |
| CIS Controls v8 | 18 controls, 153 safeguards | View → |
| ISO/IEC 27001:2022 | 93 controls, 4 themes | View → |
| NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 | 20 families, 1000+ controls | View → |
| MITRE ATT&CK v14 | 14 tactics, 193 techniques | View → |
| NIST AI RMF | 4 functions, 72 subcategories | View → |
Intelligent Learning System¶
Nexus SecOps implements Dan McCreary's Intelligent Textbook model — the knowledge graph is the curriculum backbone, not a supplementary diagram.
Your Role & Background
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Self-Assessment (mark what you already know)
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Adaptive Path Generator <-- Knowledge Graph (279 concepts, 359 edges)
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Personalized Reading Order (minimum path to your goal)
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Chapter --> MicroSim --> Quiz --> Lab
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Progress tracked in browser (no login needed)
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Exam Simulator --> Certification Preparation
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