Research Summary: Dont Just Teach, Explain! A Gamified 20Q Recommender for Cybersecurity Education

This research introduces an interactive educational framework designed to enhance cybersecurity awareness and training. It leverages a gamified, structured guessing game approach, integrating explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) principles with reinforcement learning. This method aims to move beyond traditional training by fostering intuitive reasoning and deeper engagement among learners, addressing the increasing complexity of modern cyber threats.

Why it matters

The evolving landscape of cyber threats requires more effective and engaging methods for developing cybersecurity capabilities across various sectors. This approach offers a potential solution to enhance human capital's ability to identify and respond to complex threats, thereby bolstering overall resilience and reducing operational risks.

Key insights

• Modern cyber threats necessitate innovative cybersecurity education methods beyond traditional paradigms.
• Conventional training often fails to engage learners or develop intuitive reasoning for threat recognition.
• The proposed framework uses an interactive, structured guessing game for cybersecurity awareness.
• The system integrates explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) with reinforcement learning.
• A policy-based reinforcement learning agent is employed to create a dynamic learning environment.

Source

arXiv — Computers and Society — https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.26964