Management of Complex Threats
This workshop addresses the next challenges in the coupling of cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence and Knowledge Management techniques by focusing on the Management of Complex Threats in next-generation networks. Zero-days, Advanced Persistent Threats (APT) or attacks supported by generative technologies require a coordinated and fine-grained effort for modeling, detecting, containing and removing them and reacting to related intrusions.
Scientific and technologic contributions on network management show a growing impact of the various flavors of AI (Machine Learning – ML; Large Language Models – LLMs; and generative AI – GenAI) on the design and operations of networks. Future norms (6G) foster the emergence of highly dynamic network through Software Defined Network (SDN) technologies, which implies both a broader attack surface and an increased use of AI models.
The management of complex threats both poses frontier scientific challenges and implies radical shifts in operational network management. It therefore has great potential for binding the communities, increasing impactful applied research while addressing fundamental research questions on the capability of model, the representation and analysis of attacks against networks, and the alignment between these two domains.
Key Challenges
The workshop on "Management of Complex Threats" deals with the following key challenges:
- Novel models and best practices for generative AI in security
- Novel models and best practices for machine learning in security
- Interactions model between networks, services and users
- How to design robust systems, detection systems (federated learning), or bricks of detection systems (SOCs at network and user level)
Submission Formats
Fundamental and theoretical as well as applied research work are welcome. We encourage following paper formats as submission:
- Original scientific contributions
- Tutorials
- Research tool demonstrations
Submission Guidelines
We invite researchers and practitioners to submit original research papers, tutorials, and research tool demonstrations that contribute to the advancement of the field of management cof complex threats.
Submission Categories
- Original scientific contributions (6 pages)
- Tutorials (proposal: 2-6 pages)
- Research tool demonstrations (proposal: 2-6 pages)
Important Dates
- Paper Submission Deadline:19 January 2026
- Acceptance Notification:2 March 2026
- Camera-Ready Deadline:16 March 2026
- Workshop Date:22 May 2026
Submissions and publication
Submissions must be in PDF format and use the standard IEEE 2-column conference template.
Submissions are performed via JEMS3: https://jems3.sbc.org.br/noms2026_mct_workshop.
All accepted and presented papers will be published in the NOMS 2026 conference proceedings and submitted for inclusion in IEEE Xplore.
Conference Committees
Workshop Chairs
- Pierre Parrend, EPITA/University of Strasbourg, France
- Marc-Oliver Pahl IMT Atlantique, France
Technical Program Committee
- Amel Borgi, LIPAH, Tunisia
- Ankush Meshram, Fraunhofer Institute IOSB, Germany
- Christophe Biernacki, INRIA Lille, France
- Ehsan Namjoo, University Limerick, Ireland
- Fatemeh Stodt, Hochschule Furtwangen, Germany
- Francesco Mercaldo, University of Molise, Italy
- Frédéric Le Mouël, INSA-Lyon, France
- Hamida Seba, University Lyon I, France
- Layth Sliman, EFREI, France
- Marc-Oliver Pahl, IMT Atlantique, France
- Martin Husak, Masaryk Uni Brno, Czech Republic
- Mustafa Abdallah, Purdue University, Indianapolis, IN, USA
- Nidà Meddouri, EPITA, France
- Pierre Parrend, EPITA/Unistra, France
- Tristan Bilot, AWS, USA
- Valeria Loscri, INRIA Lille, France
Previous Events
Detection of Complex Attacks 2025
The second occurence of the DCA session series, focusing on the modeling and detection of complex attacks in networks and systems.
- Location: Osaka, Japan
- Dates: 10-12 September 2025
Detection of Complex Attacks 2024
The first event in our session series, focusing on the detection of complex attacks in distributed environments.
- Location: Sevilla, Spain
- Dates: 11-13 September 2024
Call for Papers
This workshop addresses the next challenges in the coupling of cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence and Knowledge Management techniques by focusing on the Management of Complex Threats in next-generation networks. Zero-days, Advanced Persistent Threats (APT) or attacks supported by generative technologies require a coordinated and fine-grained effort for modeling, detecting, containing and removing them and reacting to related intrusions.
Attacks and their countermeasures have grown dramatically more complex with the combination of extensive digital transformation in service and industries, the maturation of both defense and attack software, and the growing pressure of increasing cybersecurity threats. In this context, efficient detection requires radical refinement of these. The specificities of the network, service and user levels must be considered, while maintaining technical control, and an acceptable cognitive load for the operators in charge of the security. The stack involved goes from data capture to cyber situational awareness and reaction, through automated analysis of attack techniques and bots, characterization of intrusion, detection of known malicious activity as well as abnormal behaviors.
The advent of security procedure generation both for defense and pen test increases the threats to yet another level. Being able to hunt these novel threats necessitates supporting the identification of emerging behaviors, tracking the evolution of connections as well as connection patterns, or even making correlations through remote systems. And to do so in an antagonist environment where the adversary does not passively wait to be detected but takes actives steps to evade, lure or exploit the threat management mechanisms.
Key Challenges
The workshop on "Management of Complex Threats" deals with the following key challenges:
- Novel models and best practices for generative AI in security
- Novel models and best practices for machine learning in security
- Interactions model between networks, services and users
- How to design robust systems, detection systems (federated learning), or bricks of detection systems (SOCs at network and user level)
Topics of Interest
Topics of interest are, but not restricted to:
- ML for network anomaly detection at scale (streaming, concept drift)
- Learning emerging behaviors for security detection
- Generative AI for defense
- Generative AI for pen test operations
- AI for automated mitigation, orchestration and intent-based security
- Graph representation learning for security: knowledge, provenance, connectivity graphs
- Adversarial machine learning
- Security of AI pipelines for network management
- Explainability and human-in-the-loop network security operations
- Benchmarks, datasets, and testbeds for AI-driven network security
- Case studies: operational deployments, lessons learned, cost/benefit analysis
Application Domains
Application domains are, but not restricted to:
- IoT environments
- Critical infrastructures
- Cloud infrastructures
- IT Networks
Submission Guidelines
Fundamental and theoretical as well as applied research work are welcome. Besides original scientific contributions, tutorials and research tool demonstrations will be encouraged as submissions.
Submitted papers must be original work, written in English, and not have been published or be under review elsewhere.
We solicit:
- Papers: up to 6 pages (including all figures, tables, and references)
- Extended abstracts for Tutorials and Research tool demonstrations: between 2 and 6 pages
Submissions must be in PDF format and use the standard IEEE 2-column conference template.
Submissions are performed via JEMS3 https://jems3.sbc.org.br/noms2026_mct_workshop.
All accepted and presented papers will be published in the NOMS 2026 conference proceedings and submitted for inclusion in IEEE Xplore.
Important Dates (Tentative)
- Paper Submission Deadline: 19 January 2026
- Acceptance Notification: 2 March 2026
- Camera-Ready Deadline: 16 March 2026
- Workshop Date: 22 May 2026
Workshop Organizers
- Pierre Parrend, EPITA, France
📧 pierre.parrend@epita.fr - Marc-Oliver Pahl, IMT Atlantique, France
📧 marc-oliver.pahl@imt-atlantique.fr