19th Central Area Networking and Security Workshop (CANSec)

Key Dates

• Workshop date: November 7, 2026

• Poster / Oral abstract submission deadline: November 3, 2026

  • Notification of acceptance: November 4, 2026

• Student travel award application deadline: TBA

  • Student travel award notification: TBA

• Registration deadline: November 6, 2026

• Cutoff date for reduced rates at the TBA

Workshop Venue: Havener Center St. Pat's Ballroom 206 B.  The closest parking lot TBA.

Title: Bringing Agentic AI to Security Operations -- A Look into Human Analysts' Reactions

Abstract: There have been great interests on integrating agentic AI capabilities into cyber defense solutions.  Ultimately human operators are responsible for the defense of networks and systems, and any actions taken to remediate threats. To understand whether AI can productively participate in this work requires close examination of how human security analysts interact with AI-enabled technologies. In this talk I will discuss our recent efforts of creating and deploying an AI SOC companion through long-term fieldwork at a security operations center. I will discuss how the anthropological research method of participant observation helped us identify pain points in the work, where an LLM-based AI agent fit in naturally for automation. I will share what we discovered after deployment: whether human analysts used the AI support to close tickets, how trust between human and AI evolved over time, and how the introduction of AI impacted human analysts' work.

Short Bio:  Dr. Xinming Ou is professor in the Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing at University of South Florida. He holds the Directorship of Rapid7 Cyber Threat Intelligence Lab at USF. Prior to USF he was a faculty member at Kansas State University. Dr. Ou's research focuses on human-centric approaches to cybersecurity, and has broad interests in applying AI techniques to improve cybersecurity operations. His research has been funded by National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Energy, National Institute of Standards and Technology, HP Labs, and Rockwell Collins. He is a recipient of 2010 NSF CAREER Award, a three-time winner of HP Labs Innovation Research Program (IRP) award, and 2013 Kansas State University Frankenhoff Outstanding Research Award. Dr. Ou received PhD in Computer Science from Princeton University, and Bachelor and Masters degrees from Tsinghua University, both in Computer Science.

Call for Participation

We seek submissions presenting original research and education activities on all practical and theoretical aspects of computer and communications security.  Original research contributions that were previously accepted/presented, i.e., work-already-published (WaP) papers, are also acceptable. The participants can deliver an oral presentation or a poster presentation.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Anonymity

• Access control

• AI security

• Cryptography

• Cybersecurity experimentation

• Database security

• Information assurance education

• Intrusion detection and prevention

• Legal and policy aspects of cybersecurity

• Network security

• Privacy

• Resilience and survivability

• Risk management

• Software security

• Security for cyber-physical systems and Internet of Things

• Edge/Cloud security

• Security for mobile computing platforms

• Security metrics

• Systems security

• Usable security

• Web security

• Wireless security

Abstract Submission: Click here to submit

A short abstract (no more than 250 words) is required for both oral and poster presentations. 

Recommended poster size: 36” × 48” in landscape format (36 inches tall × 48 inches wide). 

CANSec'26 Registration: Click here to register

To facilitate room and food planning, advance registration is strongly encouraged. The registration fee is $40 if completed on or before November 6, and $60 thereafter. Payment will be accepted on-site only. Students should submit a travel grant application to have their registration fee covered and the payment waived.

Student Travel Grant: TBA

Capture-The-Flag (CTF) Competition: Click here to register 

4PM (Central Time), November 6 , 2026 - 4PM (Central Time), November 7 , 2026

In-person teams should meet in . Please email Davis, Cooper (S&T-Student) <cooper.davis@mst.edu>.

About the CANSec Workshop

The Central Area Networking and Security Workshop (CANSec), which was formerly known as the Greater Kansas Area Security Workshop (KanSec), aims to bring together researchers and practitioners in networking and security-related fields in the central area of the US.

Since spring of 2012, the workshop has attracted attendees from Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, etc. We have also invited speakers from Texas, Indiana, Colorado, South Carolina, Virginia, etc. The goal of the CANSec workshop is to provide a forum to present research in all areas related to computer networking and security, as well as to promote interactions and collaborations between academia and industry. The workshop was originally organized semi-annually in 2012-2016. Since 2016, the CANSec community decides to change it to an annual event to encourage high-quality work to be presented and demonstrated in the workshop.

Starting from 2014, the CANSec workshop added a Cyber-Defense Competition component to its Fall events. The goal of the competition is to provide students with a platform to apply theoretical knowledge into practice, and to obtain hands-on cyber security experiences. It is a one-day competition, in which student teams will be asked to oversee a small corporate network, to manage all critical services, and to defend against external attacks. Scoring will be primarily based on the availability of the services, and how the attacks and injects are handled.