Vol. 21 No. 1 (2026): Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security (ICCWS 2026)

These are the provisional proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security (ICCWS 2026).

Published: 19-02-2026

Academic Papers

SLMs Meet GraphRAG: A Structured Approach to Context-Aware Cybersecurity Hint Generation

Ishan Abraham, Jens Mache, Taylor Wolff, Jack Cook, Richard Weiss, Justin Wang

1-8
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Systematic Literature Review: Challenges And Issues in the Adoption of SOAR Technology in Cybersecurity

Turki Alshammari, Talal Al-Balawi

9-17
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The Cyber-Physical Immune System: A Self-Healing V2X Framework for Global Defense and Healthcare

Babajide J. Asaju, Almustapha A. Wakili, Saugat Guni, Woosub Jung

18-26
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The Evolution of Penetration Testing in the Era of AI

Errol Baloyi, Mpho Letshwenyo, Mamello Mtshali, Alex Ramantswana

27-35
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Bridging the Cyber Gap: Mapping Misalignment Between Digital Adoption and Cybersecurity Capacity

Zakariya Belkhamza

36-44
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Evaluating an Investigative Process for Cryptocurrency-Related Crimes

Johnny Botha, Kreaan Singh, Louise Leenen

45-56
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Social Media’s Role in Cyber Warfare: Attack Vectors, Space Ecosystem Integration, and Impacts

Gregory Broomfield

57-65
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Secure Cross-Domain Data Validation with Field Programmable Gate Arrays

Abigail Cliche, James Brock, Ryan Longwell, Jason Dahlstrom, Stephen Taylor

66-74
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Malinformation, Deepfakes, and Cyber Warfare: Ethical and Anticipated Ethical Issues

Noah Donnelly, Richard Wilson

75-82
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The Efficacy of WPA3 in Enhancing Human-Centered Privacy in Wireless Networks

Godisang Abigail Duma, Khutso Lebea

83-88
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LLM-Assisted CPSTRIDE Threat Modeling for Critical Water Infrastructure

Dallas Elleman, Amorita A. Christian, John Hale

89-98
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New Naval Strategy, Not Cyberwar: China’s State-Sponsored Maritime Cyber Operations

Francesco Ferazza, Konsantinos Mersinas

99-105
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Implementing Countermeasures for Evasive VPN Clients in Educational Institutions

Jason Folker

106-113
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Agentic AI-Driven Social Engineering: An Elicitation Simulation for Cybersecurity Education

Audrey Fruean, Rose Zhao, Joshua Goldberg, Emily Flores, Ella Zou, Emma Trowbridge, Hsiao An Wang

114-121
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Cybersecurity Threats Targeting Remote Workers: A Review

Ngomani Fundiswa, Noluntu Mpekoa

122-128
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The Conceptualisation of a National Malware Intelligence Laboratory for South Africa

Wian Gertenbach, Andre McDonald, Mfundo Masango, Ele Mukondeleli, Ethan Buckinjohn, Rendani Mmbodi, Molebogeng Latakgomo, Ndabe Hlongwane, Namosha Veerasamy

129-138
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Cyber–Space Governance: Securing Orbit through Resilient Global Traffic Management

Philippe Goffin, Gazmend Huskaj

139-147
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Ontological Security and Threat Mitigation in Healthcare: A Descriptive Exploration

Brandon Griffin, Michaela Barnett, Tom VanNorman, Nina Janine Medina, Lucas Potter, Xavier Palmer

148-156
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The APT Paradox: Sophisticated Simplicity in Nation-state Cyber Operations (2024–2025), Trends, Detection Provenance, and Practical Gaps

Raymond André Hagen

157-166
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Quantifying the Economic Impact of Ransomware: Cyber Risk Modeling with Gamma Regression

Li Huang, Kimberly A. Cornell

167-175
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First Steps, Lasting Impact: Platform-Aware Forensics for the Next Generation of Analysts

Vinayak Jain, Sneha Sudhakaran, Saranyan Senthivel

176-184
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Regulatory Challenges in Maritime Cybersecurity: Evidence from Expert Workshops

Bilge Karabacak, Kasey Miller, Ulku Clark, Jeff Cummings, Edwin Garces, Geoff Stoker

185-193
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Migrating Time and Security-Critical PKIs to Post-Quantum Cryptography: SWIM and C-ITS

Anni Karinsalo, Sara Nikula, Sami Lehtonen

194-201
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From Water Plants to Nuclear Reactors: Mapping SCADA Vulnerabilities in Small Modular Energy Systems

Shreyas Kumar, Aleksander Alvarez, Jashanjodh Bajwa, Shrutwik Muppa

202-211
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Cyber Security in the Subsea Telecommunication Cable Networks

Martti Lehto, Petro Julkunen, Hans Hartikainen

212-221
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On the Establishment of Trust: Challenges, Opportunities and Socio- Cultural Factors

Christoph Lipps, Denise Scharwatz, Henry Collier

222-231
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Q-Learning Model for Proportionality Assessment in Military Operations

Clara Maathuis

232-240
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Proportionality Assessment in Military Operations based on SARSA and PPO Models

Clara Maathuis

241-249
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Genetic Algorithms for Proportionality Assessment in Military Operations

Clara Maathuis

250-258
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Beyond Posters: A User-Centric Digital Twin Framework for Cybersecurity Awareness

Fhatuwani Makharamedzha, Errol Baloyi, Rendani Mmbodi, Ndabezinhle Hlongwane

259-267
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Architectural Framework for an Enhanced Multi-Party Fully Homomorphic Encryption Scheme

Joshua Edward Mamza, Idris Ismaila, Joseph Ojeniyi, Shafi’i Abdulhamid, Moses Noel, Olusanjo Fasola

268-278
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Blockchain Use in Disbursing Financial Aid at Higher Education Institutions

Livhuwani Mathintha, Noluntu Mpekoa, Tevin Moodley

279-288
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Human Cognition is a Tool in Warfare in the Cyber Domain

Niina Meriläinen

289-295
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A Hybrid Machine Learning Approach for Red Team Log Analysis

Nickolas Mohr, Alan Shaffer, Gurminder Singh, Armon Barton

296-303
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A Key Rotation Management System: Design and Implementation for Improved Data Security

Malibongwe Ntalali, Noluntu Mpekoa, Sheethal Tom

304-312
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Explainable AI in Insider Financial Fraud Detection Models: A Review of Transparency and Trust

Hillary Kwame Ofori, William Leslie Brown-Acquaye , Forgor Lempogo, Kwame Bell-Dzide, Israel Edem Agbehadji

313-322
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Cyber-Physical Incident Attribution in UAV/Rail Attacks

Isaac Ojeh, Xavier Palmer, Lucas Potter

323-330
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Zero Trust Architecture for UAV/Rail Logistics Ecosystem

Isaac Ojeh, Xavier Palmer, Lucas Potter

331-338
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Policing Vulnerability to Criminal Persuasive Technology Use on Futurist Moon Bases

Tim Pappa

339-345
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How Ends, Ways, and Means are Manifested in the Cyber Defense Strategies of Superpowers

Piia Perälä, Martti Lehto, Pekka Pirinen

346-354
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From Surveillance Monocultures to Agroecological Defense: A Sovereignty-centered Framework for Agricultural Cyberbiosecurity

Rolando Perez, Xavier Palmer, Lucas Potter, Dodzi Koku Hattoh, Salomey Afua Addo, Srdjan Lesaja

355-364
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From Hoax to Reality: Deepfake-Driven Misinformation and the Death of Ozzy Osbourne

Alexander Pfeiffer, Nanditha Krishna, Thomas Wernbacher, Walter Seböck

365-373
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How Did They get Aboard my Ship?: Analysing Vessel Cyber Incidents Using the Cyber Kill Chain

Jeroen Pijpker, Stephen McCombie

374-382
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A Governance Model for Cyber Threat Information Sharing in the Healthcare Sector

Jyri Rajamäki, Ilkka Tikanmäki

383-390
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Designing Modular Cybersecurity Education for Healthcare: Integrating XiA and ManagiDiTH Frameworks with CyberSecPro Insights

Jyri Rajamäki, Jussi Simola

391-400
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Military Leadership in the Age of Cognitive Warfare

Mikko Salminen

401-407
- PDF
Evaluation of AI Agent Accelerated Cyber Operations Planning

Pietari Sarjakivi, Panu Moilanen

408-416
- PDF
VAOS: Vulnerability Attribute Ontology Score Framework for Evaluating Vulnerability Databases

Johnny Shaieb, John Hale

417-426
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Digital Forensic Readiness to Mitigate Insider Threats in the SaaS Cloud Environment

Gabriel Shoderu, Stacey Baror, Abiodun Modupe, Sheunesu Makura

427-438
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Social Media Misinformation in Europe and Africa: A Systematic Literature Review

Nokuthaba Siphambili, Errol Baloyi, Elekanyani Mukondeleli, Molebogeng Latakgomo

439-448
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Revisiting Biometrics in Cybersecurity: Do AI Methods and Zero‑Trust Architectures Drive Innovation?

Siphesihle Sithungu, Christoph Lipps

449-458
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AI Agents vs. Human Investigators: Balancing Automation, Security, and Expertise in Cyber Forensic Analysis

Sneha Sudhakaran, Naresh Kshetri

459-467
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Advancements in Developer-Focused IDE-Integrated Mobile App Security Scanning and Testing Tools

Franck Monga Tamala, Noluntu Mpekoa, Khutso Lebea

468-475
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SentinelSphere: AI-Driven Cybersecurity Platform Combining Threat Detection with Security Awareness

Nikolaos D. Tantaroudas, Ilias Karachalios, Andrew McCracken

476-485
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Aligning DYNAMO Framework with the EU Cyber Resilience Act in the Energy Sector

Ilkka Tikanmäki, Jarmo Maikkola, Joonas Nykopp, Sara Väisänen, Shakti Panta Khatri

486-493
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The Life Cycle Approach to Effective Crisis Communications in Mitigating Cyber Threats and Attacks

Jussi Toivanen, Vilma Luoma-aho

494-504
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Hybrid Learning Techniques for Image Forensics and Privacy Protection in the Face of Deep Fake Threats

Arif Ullah, Sidra Pervez, Muhammad Wajidullah Khan, Aina Hassan, Muazam Ali

505-510
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VessiGuard: AI-Driven Anomaly Detection for Maritime Cyber Defence

Ravi Varma Kanumuri, Laavanya Rachakonda, Hosam Alamleh, Bilge Karabacak, Ulku Clark Yaylacicegi

511-519
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The Informed Fake News Advisor (IFNA): Toward Sociotechnical Solutions for Fake News Detection

Namosha Veerasamy, Danielle Badenhorst

520-530
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Rethinking the Human–Technical Split in Cybersecurity

Jukka Vuorinen

531-537
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Legal Protection against Digital Personal Identity Fraud in South Africa

Murdoch Watney

538-546
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Critical Infrastructure, Industrial Control Systems and Cyber Warfare: Ethical and Anticipated Ethical Issues

Richard Wilson, Noah Donnelly

547-553
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Smart Phones and Current Developments in Cyberwarfare: An Ethical and Anticipatory Ethical Analysis

Richard Wilson, Noah Donnelly

554-560
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Russia, Weaponized Social Media and Cyber Warfare: Ethical and Anticipated Ethical Issues

Richard Wilson, Noah Donnelly

561-568
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Echo Chambers, Filter Bubbles, and Cyber Warfare: An Ethical and Anticipatory Ethical Analysis

Richard Wilson, Noah Donnelly

569-577
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Cyber Operations and the Threshold for Cyber Warfare: Ethical and Anticipated Ethical Issues

Richard Wilson, Noah Donnelly

578-584
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Lessons Learned While Performing 'Hands On' Teaching in a Live Environment

Adam Yusuf, Justin Clevenger, Char Sample

585-592
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PhD Papers

Cyber-Security in Cyber-Physical Systems and Critical Infrastructure: A Self-Healing Federated Learning Intrusion Detection Framework

Francisca Ezulike, Sheunesu Makura, Stacey Baror, Hein Venter

594-603
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PRISM-APT: A Model-First Synthesis for APT Defence

Raymond André Hagen

604-615
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Frequent Itemset Mining for Model Data Reduction

Blake Johns, Ryan Benton

616-623
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Sleeper Code in Protein Data Files as Cyber Adversarial Vectors

Tia Pope

624-632
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Masters Papers

Applicability Of Industry 4.0 Technologies in Combating Fraud in the Financial System

Jennyfer da Conceição Fonseca Santos, Luciana Paula Reis, June Marques Fernandes

634-642
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Doctrine-to-Deployment: Role of Advanced Persistent Threats in Russia’s “Information Confrontation” Doctrine

Elia Gelati, Luigi Martino

643-650
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Cybersecurity Issues and Solutions Within the South African Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Benediction Kitwa Kalombola, Tabisa Ncubukezi

651-658
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AI-Augmented Proactive Cyber-Detection and Mitigation of Cybersecurity Threats in the Banking Sector

Prince Rotondwa Mulea, Dewald Blaauw

659-667
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Analysis of Cybersecurity Strategies Across Continents

Pekka Pirinen, Piia Perälä, Martti Lehto

668-675
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Wargaming Design for Cyber Warfare

Dong Wang

676-684
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Non-Academic Papers

A Review of the Maritime Cybersecurity Regime Over the Last Decade

Leigh Armistead

686-693
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Automated Threat Modeling using Artificial Intelligence on User Stories within the SDLC to Generate Security Tasks

Shantu Asif Hossain

694-704
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SOC Puppets: How Whaley’s Theory of Outs and ‘Noisy’ Sock Puppets Encouraging Discovery of Network Deception Could Enhance Security Operations Center Analysis

Tim Pappa, Keyur Rajyaguru

705-712
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Work in Progress Papers

Exploring NIS2 Compliance in the Energy Sector Using AI-Driven Cyber Threat Intelligence

Jani Siivola, Rami Paronen, Uzair Tariq, Quyet Pham, Warren Villegas, Ilkka Tikanmäki, Jyri Rajamäki

714-717
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ECHO Early Warning System for Water Infrastructure Protection

Ilkka Tikanmäki, Sara Jylhänkangas, Kitty Tapola, Jeni Awa

718-720
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Automated Exploit Chain Modeling and Analysis

Thomas Wahl, Nicolas White, Guang Jin, Sukarno Mertoguno, Kevin Stevens, Froy Maldonado

721-724
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Late Submissions

Cyberbiosecurity in Action: Securing the Biological Battlespace from Digital Subversion

Adya Daruka, Anusha Nigam, Shreyas Kumar

726-734
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Cybersecurity Issues and Solutions Within the South African Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Benediction Kitwa Kalombola, Tabisa Ncubukezi

735-742
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Biosecure-LLM Framework: Protecting LLMs from Cyberbiosecurity Threats and the Case for Independent AI Safety Governance

Xavier-Lewis Palmer, Lucas Potter, Srdjan Lesaja, Sotirios Karathanasis, Mohammad Ghasemigol

743-750
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A Comprehensive Cyber Defense Framework for the Indonesian National Armed Forces: Bridging Governance Gaps for National and ASEAN Cyber Resilience

Timothy Shives, Fibriansyah Fatahillah

751-758
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Vol. 21 No. 1 (2026): Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security (ICCWS 2026)

Academic Papers

PhD Papers

Masters Papers

Non-Academic Papers

Work in Progress Papers

Late Submissions

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