The 2nd International Workshop on Autonomous Cybersecurity (AutonomousCyber 2025)
In conjunction with the 30th European Symposium on Research in Computer Security (ESORICS) 2025, 22 to 26 September 2025, Université de Toulouse in Toulouse, France
Overview
The 2nd edition of AutonomousCyber 2025 represents a significant milestone in advancing research and development in autonomous cybersecurity. Following the success of our inaugural event, AutonomousCyber 2024, at the 31st ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (ACM CCS 2024) on October 18, 2024, in Salt Lake City, U.S.A. reflecting strong interest in autonomous cybersecurity, AI-driven threat detection, and self-learning security mechanisms—this edition will be hosted at ESORICS 2025, a premier venue for security and privacy research. ESORICS is uniquely suited for AutonomousCyber 2025 because it gathers a distinguished community of security and privacy experts. This audience, well-versed in current cyber threats and innovative defense strategies, will greatly benefit from interdisciplinary discussions that bridge the gap between theoretical advancements and practical applications in autonomous cybersecurity. This special edition will be featublack within the prestigious the evolution from AI-assisted security tools to fully autonomous cybersecurity systems is crucial as cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated. Unlike automation, true autonomy in cybersecurity involves continuous learning, self-improvement, and proactive threat mitigation. This workshop explores the latest advancements in self-reliant cybersecurity systems, integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Quantum Machine Learning (QML) and Reinforcement Learning (RL) in cybersecurity automation for proactive cyber defence. Emphasis is placed on the impact of autonomous systems on the resilience and security of modern cyberinfrastructure and the security gains of multi-agent systems and human-machine teaming (HMT) in strengthening cyber resilience. We, therefore, invite original, unpublished research that pushes the boundaries of AI-driven autonomous security defenses. Submissions are encouraged that include comprehensive reviews, theoretical advances, experimental results, practical implementations, and case studies—each contributing novel insights and real-world validations to the field of autonomous cybersecurity.
At the AutonomousCyber workshop we bring together a distinguished program committee composed of globally renowned experts and researchers in cybersecurity, ML and AI. Our members have a proved track record of high-impact peer-reviewed publications, and their collective experience ensures a rigorous, fair and timely evaluation process. At the heart of autonomous cybersecurity is the endeavor to establish cybersecurity systems with four main characteristics:
- Self-improving: Unlike mere automation, autonomous cybersecurity applications can improve themselves without manual intervention, adapting to new threats and changes in the environment.
- Continuous learning: Autonomous cybersecurity systems continuously learn from new data, making these systems more resilient and adaptable.
- Pblackictive capabilities: With autonomy, these systems not only react but also pblackict and prepare for potential future threats based on evolving patterns and behaviors.
- Automatic customization and personalization: Autonomous systems can tailor their responses and strategies based on specific network environments and threat models, offering a more personalized and effective approach to cybersecurity.
Topics of Interest
Our workshop is an exciting opportunity to delve into state-of-the-art methodologies, groundbreaking technologies, and real-world applications pushing the frontiers of autonomous cybersecurity in the quest for self-resilient digital defence systems. We solicit original, unpublished, and innovative research work relevant to the theme of this workshop. We seek contributions in, but are not limited to, the following key areas of interest and topics:
Foundational and Theoretical Advances
- Cognitive models for enhancing threat intelligence
- Principles and theory of self-learning cybersecurity systems
- Advanced in QML for proactive cyber defence
- Human-machine Teaming for cyber resilience
Autonomous Cybersecurity Techniques & Methods
- AI-driven threat detection and mitigation algorithms
- Development of simulators for testing autonomous security systems
- Architectural innovations for adaptive and self-improving cybersecurity
- Predictive modeling and proactive defense strategies
Practical Applications and Case Studies
- AI-based automated patch management and incident response
- Autonomous digital forensics and independent security investigations
- Real-world implementations and lessons learned from deployed autonomous security solutions
Ethical, Legal, and Operational Considerations
- Regulatory challenges of deploying autonomous cybersecurity systems
- Ethical considerations in self-adaptive AI-driven cyber defenses
- Continuous compliance monitoring with AI-driven systems
We encourage contributions that offer novel insights, theoretical advancements, empirical evaluations, and reflections on real-world implementations in AutonomousCyber. This workshop aims to foster a deeper understanding of autonomous systems in cybersecurity and their pivotal role in shaping the future of digital security.
Committee
Organizers of the Workshop
- Ali Dehghantanha, Canada Research Chair and Associate Professor, University of Guelph, ON, Canada
- Reza Parizi, Director of Decentralized Science Lab and Associate Professor, Kennesaw State University, USA
- Gregory Epiphaniou, Associate Professor of Security Engineering, University of Warwick, UK
Workshop Chairs
- Ali Dehghantanha, University of Guelph, ON, Canada
- Reza M. Parizi, Kennesaw State University, USA
- Gregory Epiphaniou, University of Warwick, UK
Publication Chair
- Abbas Yazdinejad, University of Toronto, ON, Canada
Publicity Chair
TBD
Program Committee
• Ehab Al-Shaer, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
• Benjamin C. M. Fung, McGill University, Canada
• Andy Applebaum, Apple Inc, USA
• Melody Wolk, Apple Inc, USA
• Patrick Dwyer, Apple Inc, USA
• Vasilios Mavroudis, Alan Turing Institute, UK
• Chris Hicks, Alan Turing Institute, UK
• Z. Morley Mao, University of Michigan, USA
• Derrick Sturisky, Quantum Computing Inc., USA
• Mohammad Hamoudeh, King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia
• Malka Halgamuge, RMIT University, Australia
• Andrew Hamilton, Cybriant, USA
• Alireza Jolafai, Flinders University, Australia
• Vasilis Katos, Bournemouth University, UK
• Ryan K. L. Ko, University of Queensland St Lucia, Australia
• Georgios Loukas, University of Greenwich, UK
• Haider Al-Khateeb, Aston University, UK
• Carsten Maple, University of Warwick, UK
• Nick Pitropakis, Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland
• Ahmad Ridley, Laboratory for Advanced Cybersecurity Research, USA
• Ali Safaa Sadiq Al Shakarchi, Nottingham Trent University, UK
• Jeff Schwartzentruber, eSentire Inc, ON, Canada
• Andre Weimerskirch, Lear Corporation, USA
• Kaiwen Zhang, ´Ecole de technologie sup´erieure, Canada
• Xiaojie Zhu, KAUST, Saudi Arabia
Programme
TBD
Submission Details
Submission Guidelines
All accepted papers will be published in the Springer LNCS series.
Submitted papers must not substantially overlap with previously published or currently under review papers for journals or conferences. The only accepted format for submission is PDF, and papers must be prepared using the Springer LNCS template from the time of submission. Papers should be a maximum of 16 pages (using 10-point font), excluding the bibliography and well-marked appendices, with a total maximum length of 20 pages. Please note that committee members are not required to read the appendices, so the main content of the paper should be fully understandable without them.
All submissions must be written in English. Failure to follow these guidelines may result in rejection without review, regardless of the quality of the work. If accepted, authors must agree to the Springer LNCS copyright terms and must commit to presenting their papers at the workshop.
📝 Track Selection: Authors are kindly requested to select the “Autonomous Cybersecurity” track when submitting papers that focus on autonomous threat detection, AI-driven cyber defense, and adaptive security systems.
📥 Submission Site: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=esorics2025
Important Dates
- Submission Deadline: June 20, 2025
- Author Notification: July 20, 2025
- Camera-ready Submission: August 1, 2025
Workshop History
The 1st edition of the AutonomousCyber workshop was held in conjunction with the 31st ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (ACM CCS 2024) on
October 18, 2024, in Salt Lake City, U.S.A. For further details, please refer to AutonomousCyber 2024. The workshop attracted researchers and practitioners focusing on autonomous cybersecurity, AI-driven threat detection, and self-learning security mechanisms.