# Transforming In-Vehicle Network Intrusion Detection: VAE-based Knowledge Distillation Meets Explainable AI

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.09043 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.09043/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Detection and dense prediction distillation, one of 12 directions in Knowledge distillation.
- Builds on 7 of its 32 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 11 Oct 2024.

## Placed in

- Knowledge distillation / [Detection and dense prediction distillation](https://mlsanity.com/distill/detection-and-dense-prediction-distillation/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [Distilling the Knowledge in a Neural Network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1503.02531/) (2015)
- [A Unified Approach to Interpreting Model Predictions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1705.07874/) (2017)
- [On the Tractability of SHAP Explanations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2009.08634/) (2020)
- [Securing Connected & Autonomous Vehicles: Challenges Posed by Adversarial Machine Learning and The Way Forward](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.12762/) (2019)
- [Deep Transfer Learning Based Intrusion Detection System for Electric Vehicular Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.05172/) (2021)
- [Machine Learning for Security in Vehicular Networks: A Comprehensive Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.15035/) (2021)
- [Supervised Contrastive ResNet and Transfer Learning for the In-vehicle Intrusion Detection System](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.10814/) (2022)

## Built on by (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [DiCE-Extended: A Robust Approach to Counterfactual Explanations in Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.19027/) (2025)
- [A Scalable Hierarchical Intrusion Detection System for Internet of Vehicles](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.16215/) (2025)
- [KD-GAT: Combining Knowledge Distillation and Graph Attention Transformer for a Controller Area Network Intrusion Detection System](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.19686/) (2025)
- [Multi-Stage Knowledge-Distilled VGAE and GAT for Robust Controller-Area-Network Intrusion Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.04845/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

In the evolving landscape of autonomous vehicles, ensuring robust in-vehicle network (IVN) security is paramount. This paper introduces an advanced intrusion detection system (IDS) called KD-XVAE that uses a Variational Autoencoder (VAE)-based knowledge distillation approach to enhance both performance and efficiency. Our model significantly reduces complexity, operating with just 1669 parameters and achieving an inference time of 0.3 ms per batch, making it highly suitable for resource-constrained automotive environments. Evaluations in the HCRL Car-Hacking dataset demonstrate exceptional capabilities, attaining perfect scores (Recall, Precision, F1 Score of 100%, and FNR of 0%) under multiple attack types, including DoS, Fuzzing, Gear Spoofing, and RPM Spoofing. Comparative analysis on the CICIoV2024 dataset further underscores its superiority over traditional machine learning models, achieving perfect detection metrics. We furthermore integrate Explainable AI (XAI) techniques to ensure transparency in the model's decisions. The VAE compresses the original feature space into a latent space, on which the distilled model is trained. SHAP(SHapley Additive exPlanations) values provide insights into the importance of each latent dimension, mapped back to original features for intuitive understanding. Our paper advances the field by integrating state-of-the-art techniques, addressing critical challenges in the deployment of efficient, trustworthy, and reliable IDSes for autonomous vehicles, ensuring enhanced protection against emerging cyber threats.