When LLMs meet cybersecurity: a systematic literature review
Abstract The rapid development of large language models (LLMs) has opened new avenues across various fields, including cybersecurity, which faces an evolving threat landscape and demand for innovative technologies. Despite initial explorations into the application of LLMs in cybersecurity, there is...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SpringerOpen
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Cybersecurity |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s42400-025-00361-w |
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| _version_ | 1823861952723550208 |
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| author | Jie Zhang Haoyu Bu Hui Wen Yongji Liu Haiqiang Fei Rongrong Xi Lun Li Yun Yang Hongsong Zhu Dan Meng |
| author_facet | Jie Zhang Haoyu Bu Hui Wen Yongji Liu Haiqiang Fei Rongrong Xi Lun Li Yun Yang Hongsong Zhu Dan Meng |
| author_sort | Jie Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The rapid development of large language models (LLMs) has opened new avenues across various fields, including cybersecurity, which faces an evolving threat landscape and demand for innovative technologies. Despite initial explorations into the application of LLMs in cybersecurity, there is a lack of a comprehensive overview of this research area. This paper addresses this gap by providing a systematic literature review, covering the analysis of over 300 works, encompassing 25 LLMs and more than 10 downstream scenarios. Our comprehensive overview addresses three key research questions: the construction of cybersecurity-oriented LLMs, the application of LLMs to various cybersecurity tasks, the challenges and further research in this area. This study aims to shed light on the extensive potential of LLMs in enhancing cybersecurity practices and serve as a valuable resource for applying LLMs in this field. We also maintain and regularly update a list of practical guides on LLMs for cybersecurity at https://github.com/tmylla/Awesome-LLM4Cybersecurity . |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3781e4c80574405b87f3a239a9376a44 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2523-3246 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cybersecurity |
| spelling | doaj-art-3781e4c80574405b87f3a239a9376a442025-02-09T12:43:02ZengSpringerOpenCybersecurity2523-32462025-02-018114110.1186/s42400-025-00361-wWhen LLMs meet cybersecurity: a systematic literature reviewJie Zhang0Haoyu Bu1Hui Wen2Yongji Liu3Haiqiang Fei4Rongrong Xi5Lun Li6Yun Yang7Hongsong Zhu8Dan Meng9Institute of Information Engineering, Chinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Information Engineering, Chinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Information Engineering, Chinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Information Engineering, Chinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Information Engineering, Chinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Information Engineering, Chinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Information Engineering, Chinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Information Engineering, Chinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Information Engineering, Chinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Information Engineering, Chinese Academy of SciencesAbstract The rapid development of large language models (LLMs) has opened new avenues across various fields, including cybersecurity, which faces an evolving threat landscape and demand for innovative technologies. Despite initial explorations into the application of LLMs in cybersecurity, there is a lack of a comprehensive overview of this research area. This paper addresses this gap by providing a systematic literature review, covering the analysis of over 300 works, encompassing 25 LLMs and more than 10 downstream scenarios. Our comprehensive overview addresses three key research questions: the construction of cybersecurity-oriented LLMs, the application of LLMs to various cybersecurity tasks, the challenges and further research in this area. This study aims to shed light on the extensive potential of LLMs in enhancing cybersecurity practices and serve as a valuable resource for applying LLMs in this field. We also maintain and regularly update a list of practical guides on LLMs for cybersecurity at https://github.com/tmylla/Awesome-LLM4Cybersecurity .https://doi.org/10.1186/s42400-025-00361-wCybersecurityCyber attackCyber defenseLarge language modelAgent |
| spellingShingle | Jie Zhang Haoyu Bu Hui Wen Yongji Liu Haiqiang Fei Rongrong Xi Lun Li Yun Yang Hongsong Zhu Dan Meng When LLMs meet cybersecurity: a systematic literature review Cybersecurity Cybersecurity Cyber attack Cyber defense Large language model Agent |
| title | When LLMs meet cybersecurity: a systematic literature review |
| title_full | When LLMs meet cybersecurity: a systematic literature review |
| title_fullStr | When LLMs meet cybersecurity: a systematic literature review |
| title_full_unstemmed | When LLMs meet cybersecurity: a systematic literature review |
| title_short | When LLMs meet cybersecurity: a systematic literature review |
| title_sort | when llms meet cybersecurity a systematic literature review |
| topic | Cybersecurity Cyber attack Cyber defense Large language model Agent |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s42400-025-00361-w |
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