Neurosymbolic Artificial Intelligence for Cybersecurity Education, Workforce Development and Partnerships

Abstract: Traditional Artificial Intelligence (AI) approaches in cybersecurity exhibit fundamental limitations: inadequate conceptual grounding leading to non-robustness against novel attacks; limited intructability impeding analyst-guided adaptation; and misalignment with cybersecurity objectives. Neuro-Symbolic (NeSy) AI has emerged with the potential to revolutionize cybersecurity AI. However, there is no systematic understanding of this emerging approach. These hybrid systems address critical cybersecurity challenges by synergistically combining neural pattern recognition with symbolic reasoning, enabling enhanced threat understanding while introducing concerning autonomous offensive capabilities that fundamentally reshape threat landscapes. In this talk, I will share practices of how to infuse the NeSy AI as curriculum spine into cybersecurity courses at the graduate level to help students with specialty training such as a graduate level certificate or a digital badging. 

Several key points in my talk: 

1. What NeSy AI preparation is needed for cybersecurity education at the graduate level?
2. Which cybersecurity graduate-level courses can NeSy AI modules be integrated with?
3. How to integrate NeSy AI topics in those cybersecurity graduate level courses?
4. What the opportunities and challenges for NeSy AI for cybersecurity workforce development and partnerships? 

This talk intends to help graduate programs which plan to change their curriculum, help students to have specialty training in cybersecurity fields in the age of AI and share practices of establishing cross-sector partnerships.