CyberNet: Next-Gen Cybersecurity for Mission-Critical Mobile Networks

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A focused workshop on trustworthy AI, resilient mobile systems, edge security, IoT protection, and mission-critical network defense.

CyberNet 2026 addresses the cybersecurity challenges of rapidly deployable, dependable, mobile, edge-enabled, and mission-critical networks, including:

• Mission-critical connectivity: Rapidly deployable networks support situational awareness, autonomous systems, video-based communication, and remote-controlled devices.
• Edge intelligence: Edge computing delivers compute, caching, sensing, control, and IoT services near mission-critical operations.
• Trustworthy AI security: AI-based security must become dependable, robust, resilient, explainable, and resistant to adversarial and backdoor attacks.
• System-aware defenses: The workshop prioritizes prototypes, testbeds, measurement studies, deployment experiences, and cross-layer security designs.

CyberNet welcomes system-oriented contributions across AI security, mobile networking, IoT, edge orchestration, authentication, resilience, and software-defined control. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• New design and implementation for cybersecurity in mission-critical mobile networks
• Network science for embedding cybersecurity in mission-critical mobile networks
• Security and information assurance in mission-critical mobile networks
• Foundation models and LLMs for cybersecurity in mission-critical mobile networks
• Federated and decentralized learning for cybersecurity in mission-critical mobile networks
• Edge intelligence and on-device AI for cybersecurity in mission-critical mobile networks
• Cross-layer security architectures and technologies for mission-critical mobile networks
• Trustworthy, explainable, and robust AI for mission-critical mobile network security
• Game-theoretic security approaches for mission-critical mobile networks
• Public key infrastructure, trust, and authentication for mission-critical mobile networks
• Lightweight and resource-aware AI for cybersecurity in mobile and edge environments
• Blockchain-based security and privacy applications for mission-critical mobile networks
• Intrusion detection, prevention, and response for mission-critical mobile networks
• Programmable and intent-driven security for software-defined mobile networks
• Named Data Networking for cybersecurity in mission-critical mobile networks
• Digital twins for AI-driven cybersecurity analysis in mission-critical mobile networks
• Cross-layer optimizations for cybersecurity provisioning in mission-critical mobile networks
• Knowledge fusion for cybersecurity in mission-critical mobile networks
• Multi-agent and distributed systems for cybersecurity in mission-critical mobile networks
• Cognitive modelling for cybersecurity provisioning in mission-critical mobile networks
• Other smart applications for cybersecurity in mission-critical mobile networks

Submission Guidelines

A full paper should not exceed 6 pages (US letter size) double column including figures, tables, and references in standard ACM format. Papers must be submitted electronically in printable PDF form via the workshop’s website. Templates for the standard ACM format can be found at this link.

ACM Open Access Publishing Model

Important update on ACMs new open access publishing model for 2026 ACM Conferences!

Starting January 1, 2026, ACM will fully transition to Open Access. All ACM publications, including those from ACM-sponsored conferences, will be 100% Open Access. Authors will have two primary options for publishing Open Access articles with ACM: the ACM Open institutional model or by paying Article Processing Charges (APCs). With over 2,600 institutions already part of ACM Open, the majority of ACM-sponsored conference papers will not require APCs from authors or conferences (currently, around 76%).

Authors from institutions not participating in ACM Open will need to pay an APC to publish their papers, unless they qualify for a financial waiver. To find out whether an APC applies to your article, please consult the list of participating institutions in ACM Open and review the policy on discretionary open access apc waivers. Keep in mind that waivers are rare and are granted based on specific criteria set by ACM.

Understanding that this change could present financial challenges, ACM has approved a temporary subsidy for 2026 to ease the transition and allow more time for institutions to join ACM Open. The subsidized prices are as follows:

• $250 APC for ACM/SIG members
• $350 for non-members

This represents a 65% discount, funded directly by ACM. Authors are encouraged to help advocate for their institutions to join ACM Open during this transition period.

This temporary subsidized pricing will apply to all conferences scheduled for 2026.