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Nexus SecOps Benchmark Overview

The Nexus SecOps Benchmark (NSO) is a normative, measurable, auditable framework for evaluating the maturity and capability of security operations programs, with special depth in AI/ML integration and LLM copilot governance.

RFC 2119 Key Words

Normative Language

This benchmark uses RFC 2119 key words with precise meaning:

Keyword Meaning
MUST Absolute requirement. Non-compliance is a critical gap.
MUST NOT Absolute prohibition.
SHOULD Strongly recommended. Deviation requires documented justification and accepted risk.
SHOULD NOT Strongly discouraged.
MAY Optional enhancement. Implement based on risk and context.

Benchmark Structure

Nexus SecOps is organized into 14 control domains containing 220 controls total.

graph TD
    NSO["Nexus SecOps Benchmark<br/>220 Controls / 14 Domains"]

    TEL["TEL: Telemetry & Logging<br/>001-015"]
    DQN["DQN: Data Quality & Normalization<br/>016-030"]
    DET["DET: Detection Engineering<br/>031-050"]
    TRI["TRI: Triage & Investigation<br/>051-065"]
    INC["INC: Incident Response<br/>066-080"]
    CTI["CTI: Threat Intelligence<br/>081-095"]
    AUT["AUT: SOAR & Automation Safety<br/>096-110"]
    IAM["IAM: Identity & Access Signals<br/>111-120"]
    CLD["CLD: Cloud Security Operations<br/>121-135"]
    END["END: Endpoint & Network Operations<br/>136-150"]
    VUL["VUL: Vulnerability/Exposure Signals<br/>151-160"]
    AIM["AIM: AI/ML Model Risk<br/>161-180"]
    LLM["LLM: LLM Copilots & Guardrails<br/>181-200"]
    GOV["GOV: Governance, Training, Resilience<br/>201-220"]

    Nexus SecOps --> TEL
    Nexus SecOps --> DQN
    Nexus SecOps --> DET
    Nexus SecOps --> TRI
    Nexus SecOps --> INC
    Nexus SecOps --> CTI
    Nexus SecOps --> AUT
    Nexus SecOps --> IAM
    Nexus SecOps --> CLD
    Nexus SecOps --> END
    Nexus SecOps --> VUL
    Nexus SecOps --> AIM
    Nexus SecOps --> LLM
    Nexus SecOps --> GOV

Control Domain Summary

Domain Code Domain Name Control Range # Controls Maturity Focus
TEL Telemetry & Logging Nexus SecOps-001–015 15 L2–L4
DQN Data Quality & Normalization Nexus SecOps-016–030 15 L2–L4
DET Detection Engineering & Content Ops Nexus SecOps-031–050 20 L2–L5
TRI Triage & Investigation Nexus SecOps-051–065 15 L2–L4
INC Incident Response Nexus SecOps-066–080 15 L2–L4
CTI Threat Intelligence Nexus SecOps-081–095 15 L2–L4
AUT SOAR & Automation Safety Nexus SecOps-096–110 15 L3–L5
IAM Identity & Access Signals Nexus SecOps-111–120 10 L2–L4
CLD Cloud Security Operations Nexus SecOps-121–135 15 L2–L4
END Endpoint & Network Operations Nexus SecOps-136–150 15 L2–L4
VUL Vulnerability/Exposure Signal Integration Nexus SecOps-151–160 10 L2–L3
AIM AI/ML Model Risk Management Nexus SecOps-161–180 20 L3–L5
LLM LLM Copilots & Guardrails Nexus SecOps-181–200 20 L3–L5
GOV Governance, Training & Resilience Nexus SecOps-201–220 20 L2–L4
Total 220

Control Schema

Every control in the Controls Catalog includes:

Field Description
Control ID Unique identifier (e.g., Nexus SecOps-042)
Title Short descriptive name
Domain Parent domain code
Maturity Level Target maturity level (0–5)
Requirement Normative statement using MUST/SHOULD/MAY
Rationale Why this control matters
Implementation Guidance Tool-agnostic how-to
Evidence to Collect Artifacts demonstrating compliance
Tests/Validation How to verify, defensive only
Metrics Leading/lagging indicators with targets
Common Pitfalls What typically goes wrong
Framework Mappings NIST CSF, CIS v8, ISO 27001, NIST 800-53, MITRE ATT&CK/D3FEND

Framework Mappings

Nexus SecOps maps to six major frameworks. Detailed mappings are in:

Framework Mapping File
NIST CSF 2.0 mapping-nist-csf.md
CIS Controls v8 mapping-cis-v8.md
ISO/IEC 27001:2022 mapping-iso27001.md
NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 mapping-nist-800-53.md
MITRE ATT&CK / D3FEND mapping-mitre.md
NIST AI RMF 1.0 mapping-ai-rmf.md

Getting Started

For Organizations: 1. Read this page and How to Use This Benchmark 2. Review the Maturity Model 3. Download the Self-Assessment Workbook 4. Work through the Controls Catalog systematically

For Practitioners: 1. Start with the Controls Catalog for your primary domain 2. Read the corresponding Chapter 3. Complete the Labs for hands-on practice

For Auditors: 1. Review the Evidence Catalog for evidence requirements 2. Use Test Procedures for validation steps 3. Map findings to relevant Framework Mappings