Intelligent Systems Security: AI-Driven Approaches for Attacks, Detection & Explainability

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to the Special Issue "Intelligent Systems Security: AI-Driven Approaches for Attacks, Detection & Explainability".

As cyber threats grow increasingly sophisticated and pervasive, the security of systems has become a critical concern demanding innovative and robust solutions. Traditional security methodologies, while foundational, are often insufficient to counter the evolving landscape of modern attacks, including zero-day threats and advanced persistent threats. Concurrently, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into security frameworks offers unprecedented opportunities for enhanced detection, real-time response, and automated decision-making. However, the opacity of many AI models presents new challenges in trust, accountability, and interpretability.

This Special Issue aims to explore the synergistic convergence of traditional systems security and AI-enhanced approaches, with a particular focus on the entire security lifecycle. We seek contributions that bridge the gap between established techniques—such as security audits (pentesting), attack detection, signature recognition , rule-based intrusion detection and reverse engineering—and cutting-edge AI methodologies for advanced threat detection. Special emphasis will be placed on the role of Explainable AI (XAI) in developing transparent, interpretable models that not only detect attacks but also provide clear rationale for security decisions, fostering trust in automated systems.

We welcome original research articles, comprehensive reviews, and case studies that advance the field of intelligent systems security through innovative methodologies and practical implementations.

Selected topics include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Systems security and AI-enhanced methodologies;
• Traditional security techniques (pentesting, signature recognition, rule-based detection, reverse engineering);
• Security lifecycle management from detection to response;
• Intrusion detection systems (IDSs);
• IDS training and datasets;
• Zero-day threat detection and analysis;
• Attack execution analysis and threat modeling;
• Explainable AI (XAI) for security interpretation;
• Transparent security models and trustworthy AI;
• Automated decision-making in cybersecurity;
• AI-driven threat intelligence and incident response;
• Adversarial machine learning and robust AI defenses;
• Human–AI collaboration in security operations.

Prof. Dr. J. Gómez
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Computers is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• systems security
• AI-enhanced security methodologies
• traditional security techniques
• pentesting
• intrusion detection systems (IDSs)
• zero-day threat detection
• attack execution analysis
• reverse engineering
• explainable AI (XAI) for security
• transparent security models
• automated decision-making in cybersecurity
• security lifecycle management
• AI-driven threat detection
• adversarial machine learning
• human–AI collaboration in security
• trustworthy AI Systems
• real-time incident response