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Cybersecurity has become a prominent issue in regard to ensuring information privacy and integrity in the internet age particularly with the rise of interconnected devices. However, advanced persistent threats (APTs) pose a significant danger to the current contemporary way of life, and effective APT detection and defense are vital. Game theory is one of the most sought-after approaches adopted against APTs, providing a framework for understanding and analyzing the strategic interactions between attackers and defenders. However, what are the most recent developments in game theory frameworks against APTs, and what approaches and contexts are applied in game theory frameworks to address APTs? In this systematic literature review, 48 articles published between 2017 and 2022 in various journals were extracted and analyzed according to PRISMA procedures and our formulated research questions. This review found that game-theory approaches have been optimized for the defensive performance of security measures and implemented to anticipate and prepare for countermeasures. Many have been designed as part of incentive-compatible and welfare-maximizing contracts and then applied to cyber–physical systems, social networks, and transportation systems, among others. The trends indicate that game theory provides the means to analyze and understand complex security scenarios based on technological advances, changes in the threat landscape, and the emergence of new trends in cyber-crime. In this study, new opportunities and challenges against APTs are outlined, such as the ways in which tactics and techniques to bypass defenses are likely to evolve in order to evade detection, and we focused on specific industries and sectors of high interest or value (e.g., healthcare, finance, critical infrastructure, and the government).

Advanced persistent threat (APT) refers to a specific form of targeted attack used by a well-organized and skilled adversary to remain undetected while systematically and continuously exfiltrating sensitive data. Various APT attack vectors exist, including social engineering techniques such as spear phishing, watering holes, SQL injection, and application repackaging. Various sensors and services are essential for a smartphone to assist in user behavior that involves sensitive information. Resultantly, smartphones have become the main target of APT attacks. Due to the vulnerability of smartphone sensors, several challenges have emerged, including the inadequacy of current methods for detecting APTs. Nevertheless, several existing APT solutions, strategies, and implementations have failed to provide comprehensive solutions. Detecting APT attacks remains challenging due to the lack of attention given to human behavioral factors contributing to APTs, the ambiguity of APT attack trails, and the absence of a clear attack fingerprint. In addition, there is a lack of studies using game theory or fuzzy logic as an artificial intelligence (AI) strategy for detecting APT attacks on smartphone sensors, besides the limited understanding of the attack that may be employed due to the complex nature of APT attacks. Accordingly, this study aimed to deliver a systematic review to report on the extant research concerning APT detection for mobile sensors, applications, and user behavior. The study presents an overview of works performed between 2012 and 2023. In total, 1351 papers were reviewed during the primary search. Subsequently, these papers were processed according to their titles, abstracts, and contents. The resulting papers were selected to address the research questions. A conceptual framework is proposed to incorporate the situational awareness model in line with adopting game theory as an AI technique used to generate APT-based tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and normal TTPs and cognitive decision making. This framework enhances security awareness and facilitates the detection of APT attacks on smartphone sensors, applications, and user behavior. It supports researchers in exploring the most significant papers on APTs related to mobile sensors, services, applications, and detection techniques using AI.