Explainable AI for Intrusion Detection Systems: Enhancing Trust in Automated Cyber Defense

Abstract

The sophistication of cyber threats is growing, and there is a growing need for timely detection and response to security threats, which is now possible with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) based Intrusion Detection System (IDS). While the accuracy of detection has increased with the implementation of more sophisticated machine learning and deep learning models, those models tend to be opaque and complicated, making it difficult for cybersecurity professionals to understand, verify and believe automated predictions. The study explores how XAI can enhance the understanding and accuracy of artificial intelligence (AI) intrusion detection systems (IDSs). The study is carried out using the qualitative method which examines the application of the existing techniques of XAI such as feature attribution, local or global explanation models, visualization techniques and rule based interpretations for explaining the techniques and gaining enhanced confidence of the analyst and informed security decisions. The secondary data used in this research was obtained from scholarly articles, cybersecurity frameworks, industry reports, and case studies to identify real-world applications, problems in implementation, as well as the current trends of the explainable AI for cyber defense. The results showed that embedding explainability in an IDS enhances the human-AI partnership, allowing security analysts to confirm the results of their IDS, mitigate false-positive ambiguity, optimize incident response, and meet regulatory and ethical obligations. Other challenges remain such as: maintaining the explainability attribute while obtaining the predictive performance, handling large traffic density, avoiding adversarial manipulation on the explanation mechanisms, and scalability. The study finds explainable AI to be an important milestone on the path towards trustworthy and responsible cybersecurity systems. By enabling organizations to make their security operations more resilient, boost the trust in automated cyber defense, and enhance transparency without compromising detection, XAI can help organizations achieve these goals. The study provides valuable insights for practitioners in the cybersecurity industry, AI developers, decision makers and organizations developing intrusion detection systems that are transparent, reliable and ethically responsible in the dynamic digital landscape.