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mSCP

What Are Baselines?

A baseline is a YAML file that defines which security rules apply to your environment. Each baseline maps to a compliance framework (NIST 800-53, CIS Benchmarks, DISA STIG, etc.) and includes all the rules needed to meet that framework’s requirements.

Once you have a baseline, the project scripts use it to generate everything you need: guidance documents, configuration profiles, compliance scripts, and more.

How Baselines Work

Section titled “How Baselines Work”
  1. Choose a framework — Pick the compliance standard you need (NIST, CIS, STIG, etc.)
  2. Generate the baseline — Run ./mscp.py baseline -k BASELINE_NAME to create the YAML file
  3. Customize if needed — Tailor the baseline to your organization’s requirements
  4. Generate outputs — Use the baseline to create profiles, scripts, and documentation

Each baseline is specific to an operating system (macOS, iOS/iPadOS, or visionOS) and compliance level (High, Moderate, Low, or Level 1/2 depending on the framework).

Available Baselines

Section titled “Available Baselines”

U.S. Government Frameworks

Section titled “U.S. Government Frameworks”
Framework Platforms Baseline Files
NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 macOS, iOS/iPadOS, visionOS 800-53r5_high, 800-53r5_moderate, 800-53r5_low, 800-53r5_privacy
NIST SP 800-171 Rev 3 macOS, iOS/iPadOS, visionOS 800-171
NIST SP 800-171 Rev 2 (CMMC) macOS, iOS/iPadOS, visionOS cmmc_lvl1, cmmc_lvl2, cmmc_lvl3
CNSSI 1253 macOS, iOS/iPadOS, visionOS cnssi-1253_high, cnssi-1253_moderate, cnssi-1253_low
DISA STIG macOS, iOS/iPadOS, visionOS macOS: disa_stig
iOS: ios_stig, ios_stig_byoad
visionOS: visionos_stig

Industry Frameworks

Section titled “Industry Frameworks”
Framework Platforms Baseline Files
CIS Benchmarks (Level 1 & 2) macOS, iOS/iPadOS macOS: cis_lvl1, cis_lvl2
iOS: cis_lvl1_byod, cis_lvl2_byod, cis_lvl1_enterprise, cis_lvl2_enterprise
CIS Controls v8 macOS, iOS/iPadOS, visionOS cisv8
HICP — Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices (Large Organizations) macOS hicp_lp

International

Section titled “International”
Framework Platforms Baseline Files
BSI Indigo iOS/iPadOS indigo_base, indigo_high
NLMAPGOV (Base and Plus) macOS, iOS/iPadOS nlmapgov_base, nlmapgov_plus

List Available Baselines

Section titled “List Available Baselines”
Terminal window
./mscp.py baseline -l

Example output:

Available keywords (tags and benchmarks):


Tags (applicable to all platforms):
  800-171
  800-53r5_high
  800-53r5_low
  800-53r5_moderate
  800-53r5_privacy
  all_rules
  cisv8
  cmmc_lvl1
  cmmc_lvl2
  cmmc_lvl3
  cnssi-1253_high
  cnssi-1253_low
  cnssi-1253_moderate
  hicp_lp


Benchmarks (platform-specific):
  cis_lvl1 (Platforms: macOS)
  cis_lvl1_byod (Platforms: iOS)
  cis_lvl1_enterprise (Platforms: iOS)
  cis_lvl2 (Platforms: macOS)
  cis_lvl2_byod (Platforms: iOS)
  cis_lvl2_enterprise (Platforms: iOS)
  disa_stig (Platforms: macOS)
  indigo_base (Platforms: iOS)
  indigo_high (Platforms: iOS)
  ios_stig (Platforms: iOS)
  ios_stig_byoad (Platforms: iOS)
  nlmapgov_base (Platforms: iOS, macOS)
  nlmapgov_plus (Platforms: iOS, macOS)
  visionos_stig (Platforms: visionOS)

Key Concepts

Section titled “Key Concepts”
Concept Description
Purpose Define what security settings your systems should have
Customization Tailor baselines to fit your organization’s specific needs
Auditing Provide evidence that systems meet compliance standards
Automation Scripts can check and fix settings automatically
Maintenance Updated with each macOS release and when frameworks change

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”