The International Journal of Computer and Telecommunications Networking

Computer Networks is an international, archival journal providing a publication vehicle for complete coverage of all topics of interest to those involved in the computer communications networking area. The audience includes researchers, managers and operators of networks as well as designers and implementors. The Editorial Board will consider any material for publication that is of interest to those groups.

SUBJECT COVERAGE

The topics covered by the journal but not limited to these are:

1. Communication Network Architectures:
New design contributions on Local Area Networks (LANs), Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs), Wide Area Networks (WANs) including Wired, Wireless, Mobile, Cellular, Sensor, Optical, IP, ATM, and other related network technologies, as well as new switching technologies and the integration of various networking paradigms.

2. Communication Network Protocols:
New design contributions on all protocol layers except the Physical Layer, considering all types of networks mentioned above and their performance evaluation; novel protocols, methods and algorithms related to, e.g., medium access control, error control, routing, resource discovery, multicasting, congestion and flow control, scheduling, multimedia quality of service, as well as protocol specification, testing and verification.

3. Network Services and Applications:
Web, Web caching, Web performance, Middleware and operating system support for all types of networking, electronic commerce, quality of service, new adaptive applications, and multimedia services.

4. Network Security and Privacy:
Security protocols, authentication, denial of service, anonymity, smartcards, intrusion detection, key management, viruses and other malicious codes, information flow, data integrity, mobile code and agent security.

5. Network Operation and Management:
Including network pricing, network system software, quality of service, signaling protocols, mobility management, power management and power control algorithms, network planning, network dimensioning, network reliability, network performance measurements, network modeling and analysis, and overall system management.

6. Discrete Algorithms and Discrete Modeling
Algorithmic and discrete aspects in the context of computer networking as well as mobile and wireless computing and communications. Fostering cooperation among practitioners and theoreticians in this field.TYPES OF CONTRIBUTIONS CONSIDERED

The primary purpose of the journal is to publish original and complete papers covering a specific topic or project in the above mentioned areas in sufficient detail and depth to be of practical use to interested readers. The readers should benefit from the novel solutions and analyses presented in the papers. Enhanced, extended versions of quality papers presented at conferences or workshops can be submitted to our journal for review. Note that papers which were already published with the same contents or simultaneous submission of the same paper to other journals or conferences will not be considered for publication in our journal and will be immediately rejected.

Dataset Articles. Computer Networks also publishes micro-articles that describe open datasets available in a redacted and organized way. The purpose is for researchers to easily share and reuse each other's datasets by publishing data articles that:

(i) Describe collected data in detail, facilitating reproducibility of experiments and improvements over proposed techniques, thus promoting rigorous experimentation and data analysis.
(ii) Describe tools developed to collect, analyze, and visualize data.

Open-Source Software Articles. Computer Networks additionally publishes micro-articles that describe open source software that has been used to obtain scholarly results in the area of computer networks. This may include articles describing discrete-event or other simulators, emulation tools, software implementations of networking and communication functionalities and protocols, standard implementations, monitoring tools, among others.

Special Issue on Artificial Intelligence for Security in Networked CPS: Advances and Emerging Trends
Submission Date: 2026-01-31

We seek contributions that advance the modeling, analysis, and mitigation of security threats and anomalies in CPS environments, focusing on both theoretical and application-driven studies.

Guest editors:

Giancarlo Sperlì
University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
Email: giancarlo.sperli@unina.it
Gaetano Perrone
University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
Email: gaetano.perrone@unina.it

Sabrina Sicari
University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
Email: sabrina.sicari@uninsubria.it 

Dimitrios Pezaros
University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Email: dimitrios.pezaros@glasgow.ac.uk

Una-May O’Reilly
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
Email:  unamay@csail.mit.edu

Special issue information:

In recent years, Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) have transformed the industrial landscape through the seamless integration of communication, computational, and physical process components. These advances have enabled modernization of critical infrastructure but, at the same time, the ‘sudden connectivity’ brought to these environments has highlighted the importance of ensuring robust and secure operation through effective detection and mitigation of cyber-physical attacks. Despite extensive research on the resilience of CPS, identifying anomalies has become increasingly challenging due to the emergence of deceptive and stealthy attack vectors. Furthermore, the diverse and sophisticated nature of these attacks, often targeting multiple layers of CPS architectures—including physical, control, and network layers—requires innovative approaches for their effective mitigation.

The aim of this Special Issue is to analyze and address critical challenges and emerging trends in Artificial Intelligence for Cybersecurity of Networked Cyber-Physical Systems. We seek contributions that advance the modeling, analysis and mitigation of security threats and anomalies in CPS environments, focusing on both theoretical and application-driven studies that promote the development of explainable AI models. In particular, we encourage submissions presenting novel methodologies that leverage advanced optimization techniques and AI-driven learning paradigms—such as online learning, reinforcement learning, and deep learning—to enhance the security, reliability, and interpretability of CPS networks.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

Artificial Intelligence-Based Secure Network Management in CPS: AI-driven optimization and automation for dynamic and secure network configuration; adaptive and intelligent resource allocation while mitigating cyber threats; Federated Learning for Privacy-Preserving CPS Networks; enhancing transparency and trust in AI-driven security decisions; AI interpretability techniques for network anomaly detection;
Security in CPS Networks: Intrusion detection and prevention systems for CPS using AI; secure communication protocols and cryptographic methods for CPS integrating AI models; trust management and authentication mechanisms in IoT and CPS networks based on AI; mitigation of adversarial attacks on AI models in network environments; Algorithmic Aspects of Communication Networks in CPSs: Theoretical analysis of AI-driven communication and security protocols; design of secure and scalable algorithms for large- scale networks exploiting AI; AI-driven CPS Internet architectures for network resilience and fault tolerance; AI and security-driven evaluation of real-world CPS networking solutions.

Manuscript submission information:

The journal's submission platform (Editorial Manager®) will be available for receiving submissions to this Special Issue from September 1, 2025. Please refer to the Guide for Authors to prepare your manuscript, and select the article type of “VSI: Artificial Intelligence for Security in Networked CPS” when submitting your manuscript online. Both the Guide for Authors and the submission portal could be found on the Journal Homepage: Computer Networks | Journal | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier.

Timeline:

Submission Open Date: 01/09/2025
Final Manuscript Submission Deadline: 31/01/2026
Editorial Acceptance Deadline: 31/10/2026

Special Issue on Modeling and performance evaluation of wireless ad hoc and ubiquitous networks
Submission Date: 2026-03-15

Wireless ad hoc and ubiquitous networks have experienced rapid growth in recent years. These networks are increasingly being implemented, deployed, and tested, a trend that is expected to continue. This special issue on the modeling and performance evaluation of smart frameworks for wireless ad hoc and ubiquitous networks seeks to foster a critical discussion on the development of innovative approaches to enhance these networks.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

    Performance analysis and evaluation of wireless ad hoc networks, including mesh, sensor, and vehicular networks.
    Algorithms and Protocols for Enhancing Energy Efficiency in Networks.
    Analytical modeling of wireless ad hoc and ubiquitous networks.
    Predictive modeling for wireless ad hoc and ubiquitous networks.
    Performance measurement, evaluation, and monitoring tools for wireless ad hoc and ubiquitous networks.
    Simulation and testbed development for wireless ad hoc and ubiquitous networks.

Submission Format

All submitted papers must be clearly written in excellent English and contain only original work, which has not been published by, or is currently under review for, any other journal or conference. Papers must not exceed 25 pages (single column, 11pt font) including figures, tables, and references. A detailed submission guideline is available as a “Guide to Authors” at Guide for authors - Computer Networks - ISSN 1389-1286 | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier.

Authors must select “VSI: MOD-PERF-W-ADHOC-UBI-NET” when they reach the “Article Type” step in the submission process: Editorial Manager®.

All papers will be peer-reviewed by three independent reviewers.

Important Dates:

    Submissions Deadline: March 15th, 2026
    First Reviews Due: May 15th, 2026
    Revision Due: June 15th, 2026
    Second Reviews Due/Notification: June 30th, 2026
    Final Manuscript Due: July 15th, 2026
    Publication Date: July 30th 2026

Guest editors:

Dr. Mónica Aguilar Igartua, PhD

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona, Spain
Email: monica.aguilar@upc.edu

Dr. Luis J. de la Cruz Llopis, PhD

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona, Spain
Email: luis.delacruz@upc.edu

Dr. Thomas Begin, PhD

Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
Email: thomas.begin@univ-lyon1.fr

Keywords:

Performance evaluation, wireless ad hoc networks, ubiquitous networks, vehicular networks, sensor networks, green networks, energy efficiency, simulation, analytical methods