# Scenario-Agnostic Zero-Trust Defense with Explainable Threshold Policy: A Meta-Learning Approach

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.03349 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.03349/

## Key facts

- Cited by 12 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 8 of its 24 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 6 Mar 2023.

## Builds on (most cited first, 8 of 8)

- [Model-Agnostic Meta-Learning for Fast Adaptation of Deep Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.03400/) (2017)
- [Meta-Learning in Neural Networks: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.05439/) (2020)
- [Meta-SGD: Learning to Learn Quickly for Few-Shot Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1707.09835/) (2017)
- [On the Convergence Theory of Gradient-Based Model-Agnostic Meta-Learning Algorithms](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.10400/) (2019)
- [Curriculum in Gradient-Based Meta-Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.07956/) (2020)
- [Intelligent Zero Trust Architecture for 5G/6G Networks: Principles, Challenges, and the Role of Machine Learning in the context of O-RAN](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.01478/) (2021)
- [Sampling Attacks on Meta Reinforcement Learning: A Minimax Formulation and Complexity Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.00081/) (2022)
- [Cybersecurity in Robotics: Challenges, Quantitative Modeling, and Practice](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.05789/) (2021)

## Built on by (most cited first, 12 of 12)

- [Automated Security Response through Online Learning with Adaptive Conjectures](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.12499/) (2024)
- [Digital Twin-Enhanced Wireless Indoor Navigation: Achieving Efficient Environment Sensing with Zero-Shot Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.06766/) (2023)
- [Meta Stackelberg Game: Robust Federated Learning against Adaptive and Mixed Poisoning Attacks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.17431/) (2024)
- [Symbiotic Game and Foundation Models for Cyber Deception Operations in Strategic Cyber Warfare](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.10570/) (2024)
- [A First Order Meta Stackelberg Method for Robust Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.13800/) (2023)
- [Online Incident Response Planning under Model Misspecification through Bayesian Learning and Belief Quantization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.14385/) (2025)
- [From Texts to Shields: Convergence of Large Language Models and Cybersecurity](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.00841/) (2025)
- [Agentic AI for Cyber Resilience: A New Security Paradigm and Its System-Theoretic Foundations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.22883/) (2025)
- [In-Context Autonomous Network Incident Response: An End-to-End Large Language Model Agent Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.13156/) (2026)
- [Agentic Incident Response through Digital Twin-Enhanced Multiscale Planning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.02422/) (2026)
- [The Game-Theoretic Symbiosis of Trust and AI in Networked Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.12859/) (2024)
- [Hierarchical Agentic Incident Response with Digital-Twin-Validated Attack Inference](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.15016/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The increasing connectivity and intricate remote access environment have made traditional perimeter-based network defense vulnerable. Zero trust becomes a promising approach to provide defense policies based on agent-centric trust evaluation. However, the limited observations of the agent's trace bring information asymmetry in the decision-making. To facilitate the human understanding of the policy and the technology adoption, one needs to create a zero-trust defense that is explainable to humans and adaptable to different attack scenarios. To this end, we propose a scenario-agnostic zero-trust defense based on Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (POMDP) and first-order Meta-Learning using only a handful of sample scenarios. The framework leads to an explainable and generalizable trust-threshold defense policy. To address the distribution shift between empirical security datasets and reality, we extend the model to a robust zero-trust defense minimizing the worst-case loss. We use case studies and real-world attacks to corroborate the results.