Date of Award
2017
Document Type
Dissertation
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
Khoshgoftaar, Taghi M.
Abstract
The Internet and computer networks have become an important part of our organizations and everyday life. With the increase in our dependence on computers and communication networks, malicious activities have become increasingly prevalent. Network attacks are an important problem in today’s communication environments. The network traffic must be monitored and analyzed to detect malicious activities and attacks to ensure reliable functionality of the networks and security of users’ information. Recently, machine learning techniques have been applied toward the detection of network attacks. Machine learning models are able to extract similarities and patterns in the network traffic. Unlike signature based methods, there is no need for manual analyses to extract attack patterns. Applying machine learning algorithms can automatically build predictive models for the detection of network attacks. This dissertation reports an empirical analysis of the usage of machine learning methods for the detection of network attacks. For this purpose, we study the detection of three common attacks in computer networks: SSH brute force, Man In The Middle (MITM) and application layer Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. Using outdated and non-representative benchmark data, such as the DARPA dataset, in the intrusion detection domain, has caused a practical gap between building detection models and their actual deployment in a real computer network. To alleviate this limitation, we collect representative network data from a real production network for each attack type. Our analysis of each attack includes a detailed study of the usage of machine learning methods for its detection. This includes the motivation behind the proposed machine learning based detection approach, the data collection process, feature engineering, building predictive models and evaluating their performance. We also investigate the application of feature selection in building detection models for network attacks. Overall, this dissertation presents a thorough analysis on how machine learning techniques can be used to detect network attacks. We not only study a broad range of network attacks, but also study the application of different machine learning methods including classification, anomaly detection and feature selection for their detection at the host level and the network level.
Extent
141 p.
Recommended Citation
Najafabadi, Maryam Mousaarab, "Machine learning algorithms for the analysis and detection of network attacks" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019. 1726.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_6/1726
Identifier
FA00004882
Comments
Includes bibliography.|Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.