Intelligent Incident Response Systems Using Machine Learning
Main Article Content
Abstract
The increasing complexity and volume of cyber threats have placed significant pressure on traditional incident response (IR) systems, necessitating the adoption of more advanced technologies to detect, analyze, and mitigate attacks efficiently. One such technology is machine learning (ML), which offers the potential to transform incident response by automating threat detection, prioritizing incidents, and dynamically adjusting responses based on evolving attack patterns. This paper explores the integration of machine learning into intelligent incident response systems, focusing on its applications, benefits, and challenges. Through an in-depth examination of machine learning techniques—such as supervised learning, unsupervised learning, deep learning, and reinforcement learning—we highlight how these models can enhance various stages of incident response, including detection, triage, automated remediation, and post-incident analysis. Additionally, we discuss case studies showcasing the effectiveness of ML in real-world IR scenarios and identify key challenges, such as data quality, adversarial attacks, and model interpretability. The paper also proposes potential future directions, including hybrid ML models, human-in-the-loop systems, and advances in explainable AI, to further improve the reliability and transparency of ML-driven IR systems. Ultimately, this research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how machine learning can augment incident response efforts and enhance cybersecurity resilience in the face of increasingly sophisticated threats.

Citation Metrics:
Downloads
Article Details

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
References
Abdallah, M. A., Khoukhi, L., & Djenouri, D. (2019). Phishing detection using machine learning techniques: A comprehensive survey. International Journal of Computer Applications, 178(12), 37-46. https://doi.org/10.5120/ijca2019918317
Alazab, M., Tang, M., & Watters, P. (2020). Machine learning for cybersecurity: A comprehensive review. Future Generation Computer Systems, 104, 429-443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.future.2019.10.001
Buczak, A. L., & Guven, E. (2016). A survey of data mining and machine learning methods for cyber security intrusion detection. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 18(2), 1153-1176. https://doi.org/10.1109/COMST.2015.2495877
Cheng, J., Li, S., & Zhang, Q. (2020). Machine learning for cyber attack detection and classification: A survey. Journal of Computer Security, 28(3), 255-278. https://doi.org/10.3233/JCS-200068
Cruz, M. D., Ceballos, F. J., & Patel, A. (2021). Review of machine learning applications for cybersecurity. Computers & Security, 106, 102239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cose.2021.102239
Goodfellow, I. J., Shlens, J., & Szegedy, C. (2015). Explaining and harnessing adversarial examples. arXiv preprint arXiv:1412.6572.
Kim, Y., & Lee, H. (2020). A deep learning-based method for network intrusion detection and its application in cybersecurity. Journal of Information Security and Applications, 53, 102537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jisa.2020.102537
Kim, Y., Cho, S., & Choi, H. (2019). A study of deep learning for anomaly detection in cybersecurity. Journal of Information Security and Applications, 45, 22-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jisa.2018.12.001
Li, X., & Zhang, Z. (2019). A survey on machine learning in cybersecurity: Techniques and applications. Security and Privacy, 2(5), e107. https://doi.org/10.1002/spy2.107
Liu, Y., Wu, Z., & Tsai, J. (2019). Unsupervised learning for cybersecurity anomaly detection. Computers & Security, 80, 70-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cose.2018.09.010
Mnih, V., Silver, D., & Graves, A. (2015). Human-level control through deep reinforcement learning. Nature, 518(7540), 529-533. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14236
Ribeiro, M. T., Singh, S., & Guestrin, C. (2016). "Why should I trust you?" Explaining the predictions of any classifier. Proceedings of the 22nd ACM SIGKDD International Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining, 1135-1144. https://doi.org/10.1145/2939672.2939778
Sarker, I. H., Dufresne, L., & Sarker, M. A. (2021). Machine learning techniques for cybersecurity: A survey. Computers & Electrical Engineering, 88, 106916. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compeleceng.2020.106916
Sharma, G., Kapoor, P., & Gupta, R. (2019). Machine learning in incident response: Techniques and applications. IEEE Access, 7, 123462-123473. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2936487
Xie, C., Zhang, H., & Zhao, Y. (2020). Machine learning techniques for cybersecurity incident response: A review. Journal of Cybersecurity Technology, 4(1), 45-70. https://doi.org/10.1080/23742917.2020.1794782
Xie, C., Zhang, H., & Zhao, Y. (2020). Machine learning techniques for cybersecurity incident response: A review. Journal of Cybersecurity Technology, 4(1), 45-70. https://doi.org/10.1080/23742917.2020.1794782
Zhou, X., Liu, T., & Wu, H. (2018). Machine learning in incident detection: A review of current applications and challenges. Security and Privacy, 1(4), e38. https://doi.org/10.1002/spy2.38














