5th Cyber Resilience Workshop (CRW'26)

in conjunction with

IEEE Conference on Communications and Network Security (CNS) 2026

17 September, Newark, Delaware USA

Following the previous successful editions of the workshop, the 5th IEEE Conference on Communications and Network Security - Cyber Resilience Workshop (CRW'26) will be held in Newark, Delaware USA, on Sept. 17, 2026. The workshop will focus on recent advances in areas such as machine learning and AI for cyber resilience, zero-trust architecture, and moving target defense. It will give the audience an overview of cyber resilience and provide a platform to discuss new research directions. We seek submissions from cyber security experts in academia, industry and government labs presenting novel research results in the architecture, design principles, and metrics for cyber-resilient systems.

Scope of the Workshop

In recent years, we have witnessed not only a significant surge in the number of cyber-attacks but also a marked increase in their sophistication. These attacks possess the ability to bypass traditional security measures such as intrusion detection systems, firewalls, and encryptions, allowing them to remain undetected and execute targeted strategies. As a result, safeguarding against these evolving threats has become an increasingly daunting task. To address this pressing challenge, cyber resilience has emerged as a transformative security paradigm. Unlike conventional approaches, cyber resilience focuses on adapting to both known and unknown threats and adversities in real-time, strategically responding to them to maintain critical functions and performance even in the face of attacks. However, achieving effective cyber resilience necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the underlying architecture, design principles, and metrics for resilient systems.

In response to this critical need, this workshop that aims to bring together leading experts in the field of cyber resilience. The workshop will provide a valuable platform for academia and industry to collaborate, offering a perspective on the relevant challenges and opportunities in this emerging area of research. By focusing on recent advances in crucial domains like machine learning and AI for cyber resilience, zero-trust architecture, and moving target defense, the workshop will explore the latest innovations and developments. Participants of the workshop will gain an insightful overview of the concept of cyber resilience and its paramount importance in contemporary security strategies. Additionally, the event will serve as an engaging forum for discussion, encouraging participants to explore and deliberate on new research directions. By facilitating the exchange of ideas and experiences among professionals in the field, the workshop aims to advance the knowledge and practical applications of cyber resilience.

IMPORTANT DATES

Submission Deadline: 22 June 2026 5 July 2026
Notification of Acceptance: 15 July 2026 31 July 2026
Final Paper Submission: 14 August 2026
Workshop Date: 17 September 2026

SUBMIT A PAPER

https://edas.info/N35374

Submissions are expected to be up to six (6) pages, 10 pt font in two-column IEEE format.

WORKSHOP PROGRAM

8:30 AM – OPENING REMARKS

Workshop Co-Chairs

8:30 AM - 9:30 AM – TECHNICAL SESSION I

Session Chair: Junaid Farooq

8:35 – 8:50 AM
Resilient Inline ML Security Inspection at the SASE Edge
Ketul Sheth (Palo Alto Networks, USA & University of Southern California, USA); Nitish Gupta and Steve Jankowski (Palo Alto Networks, USA)

8:50 – 9:10 AM
Beyond Login: Self-Supervised Multimodal Continuous Authentication for Smartphones
Md Tariqul Islam (University of Illinois Springfield, USA); Goutham Reddy Alavalapati (University of Illinois, USA); Odelu Vanga (University of Hyderabad, India)

9:10 – 9:30 AM
Adaptive Zero-Trust Microsegmentation via Graph-Aware Learning for Wireless Networks
Yuhui Wang (University of Michigan-Dearborn, USA); Xingqi Wu (University of Michigan, USA); Junaid Farooq (University of Michigan-Dearborn, USA); Juntao Chen (Fordham University, USA)

9:30 – 10:00 AM – COFFEE BREAK

10:00 – 11:00 AM – KEYNOTE ADDRESS

When the Defender Is Also a Model: Autonomous Cyber Defense and Its Assurance Problem

Abstract

Cyber resilience needs two things it still largely lacks: metrics that quantify how much adversary effort a system actually absorbs, and defenses that can act at machine speed without a human in the loop. This keynote traces both through a decade of work on critical infrastructure. On measurement, I will cover attack-graph-based ranking of vulnerabilities, exploits, and privileges for countermeasure prioritization, automated learning of adversary tradecraft from malicious campaigns, and resilience metrics developed for energy delivery, offshore wind, and port systems. On autonomy, I will cover zero-trust defense against generative-AI-driven attacks in the power grid, trust-by-learning for 6G, neuro-symbolic explainable AI twins, and agentic AI for real-time attack detection in 5G O-RAN along with the assurance problems autonomy creates. I will close with results from the STRIVEN spectrum testbed, where these ideas were validated against live radar, and an agenda for the community.

Sachin Shetty is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Old Dominion University and Executive Director of the Center for Secure and Intelligent Critical Systems. He received his Ph.D. in Modeling and Simulation from Old Dominion University and was named a University Eminent Scholar in 2026. His research sits at the intersection of computer networking, network security, and machine learning, with a focus on cyber resilience and risk assessment for critical infrastructure, AI assurance, and 5G/6G and spectrum security. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles and five edited books, and has led more than $22 million in research funded by NSF, AFRL, ONR, DHS, DOE, and industry. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE.

11:00 – 11:30 AM – COFFEE BREAK

11:30 – 11:50 AM – TECHNICAL SESSION II

Session Chair: Junaid Farooq

11:30 – 12:30 AM
Hierarchical Agentic Incident Response with Digital-Twin-Validated Attack Inference
Yiran Gao (City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong); Juntao Chen (Fordham University, USA); Tao Li (City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)

11:50 – 12:10 PM
BlueTeam Agent: Integrating Large Language Models and Retrieval Augmented Generation for HTTP Request Analysis
Mai, Quang Ngoc Huynh, Nhan Van Nguyen, Kha Vy Lien Tai Ho and Vy My Truong (FPT University, Vietnam)

12:10 – 12:30 PM
SENTRIX: A Flow-Based Intrusion Detection Cascade with Operator-Driven False-Positive Reduction
Sohamm Shheth and Nilakshi Jain (Shah and Anchor Kutchhi Engineering College, India); Maj Vineet Kumar (CyberPeace, India)

12:30 PM – CLOSING REMARKS
Workshop Co-Chairs

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