Machine learning is a field of artificial intelligence that deals with the design and development of algorithms that can learn from and make predictions on data. This type of learning is similar to the way humans learn, making it a powerful tool for computer security. There are many different machine learning methods, but here are some of the most common and practical methods you can use to improve your computer security.
1. Estimation Methods
Estimation methods predict the value of a variable based on the values of other variables. A common example of an estimation method is linear regression. Linear regression models are used to predict a continuous output, such as the prediction of the price of a house based on its size and location.
Linear regression can be used for risk analysis, which involves predicting the financial loss caused by certain events such as software vulnerabilities in computer operating systems. Regression is also useful when testing new patches or updating software, allowing you to see whether improvements have been made or if they have been ineffective at resolving security flaws.
2. Classification Methods
Classification methods are used to classify data into different groups, either automatically or by humans. An example of this is spam detection and antivirus software that uses heuristics to identify malware based on the file’s content.
The most common classification method used by computer security is support vector machines, which create a line known as the “support vector” that best separates the positive data (files in your system you consider safe) from negative data (files you consider unsafe).
If a new file arrives that has unknown attributes, it can be classified as either positive or negative depending on where it falls along this line. A popular tool for creating support vector machines is LIBSVM.
3. Random Forests
Random forests are another class of algorithms that can classify data by separating and grouping data into different categories. For example, a bank might want to use classification methods to determine whether individual customers pose a security risk.
Random forests help achieve this by creating groups of customers that may have identical attributes, such as having a high balance or being targeted for phishing attacks. Random forests are an efficient way to generate many possible prediction models without needing to fit them to the training data manually, which is more time consuming and prone to error. A popular tool for creating random forest models is ROUTINE .
4. Anomaly Detection
Anomaly detection is a machine learning method that searches for data that is abnormal compared to the rest of the data in the system. An anomaly might be any type of behavior or event you don’t expect, such as an employee accessing data outside their normal working hours or a suspicious file being uploaded to your website.
Once you have set up an anomaly detection model, it can continuously monitor activity in your network and identify anything you consider suspicious. There are many types of anomaly detection algorithms, but one common algorithm used by multiple commercial products is outlier analysis , which uses statistical methods to determine whether a given event is unusual based on previous events. A popular tool for creating outlier analysis models is ELKI .
How Machine Learning Can Be Used For Network Protection
Machine learning can be used for many different tasks within computer security, but one of its most useful applications is network protection. Most applications of machine learning have to be fine-tuned by a human operator, which can be time-consuming, expensive and prone to error.
With network protection, the software can automatically tune itself as it monitors the data flowing through the network, making it an efficient and cost-effective way to protect your data.
Ghosh and colleagues suggested developing an anomaly detection system based on a (conventional) neural network in the year 1998 (Ghosh et al (i.e., detecting anomalous and unknown intrusions against programs).
How Machine Learning Can Be Used For Cybersecurity
Hu and colleagues in 2003 and Heller and colleagues in 2003 both employed Support Vector Machines to a based anomaly detection technique (e.g., detecting anomalous Windows registry accesses).
Network Intrusion Detection Systems
Network intrusion detection systems are used to protect networks from unauthorized access. Machine learning methods are used to train these systems to detect patterns of behavior that may indicate an intrusion. Deep learning algorithms are used to improve the accuracy of these systems. Cyber security is a major concern for businesses and individuals alike.
We are aware of no commercial intrusion-detection solution that incorporates any of the machine learning applications described in Ghosh et al. 1998, Hu et al. 2003, or Heller et al. 2003.
Cybersecurity experts have long relied on network intrusion detection systems (NIDS) to safeguard computer networks from malicious actors. These systems work by analyzing network traffic for suspicious activity and then generating alerts accordingly.
However, NIDS are often unable to keep pace with the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats. This is where machine learning algorithms come in. By using machine learning, NIDS can be more effective in detecting and responding to intrusions.
Intrusion Detection System (IDS)
An intrusion detection system (IDS) is a network security tool that monitors network traffic for suspicious activity and raises an alarm when such activity is detected. Data mining is a process of extracting patterns from data.
Supervised learning is a type of machine learning where the training data is labeled. Domain generation algorithms are used to generate domains for malicious activity. Recurrent neural networks are a type of artificial neural network where connections between nodes form a directed graph.
“DL is a statistical approach that leverages vast amounts of data as training sets for a network with several hidden layers, known as a deep neural network,” according to NSCAI Intern Report for Congress (2019). (DNN).
The Different Types Of Machine Learning Methods
David Palmer, Director of Technology at Darktrace, stated of the ransomware, which infected more than 200,000 victims across 150 countries, “Our algorithms recognised the assault within seconds in one NHS agency’s network, and the threat was neutralised without inflicting any damage to that organisation.”
1. Text Mining
Text mining is a machine learning method for extracting useful information from text data. For example, law enforcement officers may use text mining to detect terrorist cells based on the information they post online.
Text mining can be used in threat modeling to determine what new types of malware are being developed by analyzing strings found in malware code, such as the names of files or execution commands. It can also be used to understand the motivations of attackers and how they might try to penetrate your systems.
Another possible use of text mining is cyber deception , which involves trying to deter attackers through disinformation techniques, including posting false or misleading information on your website in hopes that it will discourage them from launching an attack.
2. Anomaly Detection
Anomaly detection is a machine learning method commonly used by antivirus software to identify suspicious files, such as a new virus or worm. Anomaly detection algorithms typically work by comparing a new file to known “normal” files, using statistical techniques to produce what is known as a baseline.
Any file with attributes that fall outside this baseline is considered anomalous. Anomaly detection typically relies on machine-generated heuristics , which means you will usually need data scientists to fine-tune the model based on the characteristics of your network and computers.
It does not rely on humans examining each file individually, which makes it more efficient at automatically detecting malware and prevents you from missing any new types of malware.
3. Clustering
Clustering is a machine learning method that groups similar objects or events together automatically. For example, clustering can be used to detect intrusions into your computer network by determining which hosts are sending data to the same remote address.
It can also be used to determine when someone is using a botnet by finding out which hosts are trying to connect to the same command and control server. Clustering algorithms are often also used in anomaly detection, such as the unsupervised learning algorithm K-means clustering .
Clustering can work by using all the data points in a dataset and then running a machine-learning algorithm on this data, resulting in groups of objects with similar characteristics. Clustering usually also involves a human operator who has to fine-tune the initial clustering model.
4. Recurrent Neural Networks
Recurrent neural networks (RNNs) are a type of deep learning algorithm that is capable of learning and storing information over time. For example, an RNN could use past events to predict what might happen in the future, such as when you might want to send an email or post on social media in response to something that has happened.
A popular application of RNNs is cyber deception. The idea is that cyber deception could be used to try to deter an attacker from attacking a system, by making it appear like the computer has gained consciousness and become self-aware. This might encourage them not to attack the computer so they don’t end up fighting something that can think and retaliate on its own.
5. Natural Language Processing
Natural language processing (NLP) is a machine learning method that allows computers to understand human language and determine what the user wants without having to explicitly program each action.
Computers already do a lot of this for us, such as recognizing faces and helping us navigate our way through the Internet, but NLP can be used to allow otherwise intelligent software to understand more complex language.
For example, NLP can be used to build natural language web search systems where you can search for a topic on the Internet and your computer will provide some background information about the topic as it finds relevant web pages. Another possible application of NLP is in cyber deception, where machines could learn what types of statements or messages are likely to throw off an attacker.
Advantages Of Machine Learning Methods
Machine learning is used to improve the accuracy of these predictions.
Machine learning (ML) is a sub-field within AI. As the “Field of study that offers computers the ability to learn without being explicitly taught,” the pioneer Arthur Samuel proposed the name “ML” in 1959.
1. Machine Learning Is Much Faster Than Human Intelligence
Computers are much more efficient at creating sophisticated algorithms to solve problems because they can run these algorithms thousands of times in a fraction of the time that humans can.
This makes machine learning practical for cybersecurity purposes, where you would like an automated system to analyze your data and make a determination on what might be a suspicious behavior.
2. Machine Learning Does Not Require Humans To Make Decisions Or Test The Results
There are no humans involved in any machine learning algorithm, which makes it much quicker and easier than developing this type of technology from scratch by hand. You can simply feed your data into the algorithm and let it work its magic on your network traffic to come up with useful outputs. This means you don’t need to hire a large number of employees to manually examine your data, and you can quickly get up and running with machine learning.
3. Machine Learning Works Even If Your Dataset Is Huge
Humans can only perform effective analysis on a small number of data points at once. For example, it would be impossible for a human to manually analyze all the tweets you posted to figure out how many were positive or negative in tone.
However, machine learning algorithms can examine entire sets of data much more effectively than humans because they have no need for sleep or other human-like weaknesses that make them more susceptible to error when examining large numbers of data points.
4. Machine Learning Can Improve With Use
Machine learning algorithms learn as people use them, which means they get stronger and stronger with each new data point they process. This is known as training your machine learning model . As a result, your machine learning algorithms will become better and better at protecting your network by automatically detecting anomalies and intrusions in the future.
5. Machine Learning Does Not Require Much Human Supervision
With most machine learning methods, you simply provide the input data to the algorithm and then let it work through the problem on its own. This means you can automate many of your security processes by using an analytical machine-learning algorithm to examine your network traffic and take action automatically if it detects any problems.
6. Machine Learning Algorithms Can Work With Simple Data
Most machine learning algorithms require simple data and only need to be trained on a small portion of your dataset. This is much easier than trying to understand complex human interactions or processes, so you don’t need to hire a large number of employees to analyze your data.
7. Machine Learning Algorithms Can Be Reused Again And Again
Once you’ve created a machine learning algorithm, it can be used over and over again on your datasets without requiring any more input from you. This makes it easy for users to use their own datasets without needing access to the original data that was used in the training process.
This is especially useful for users who have a large number of data points and don’t want to keep the original data on hand, or when users are working with sensitive data that they don’t want to share.
8. Machine Learning Algorithms Can Be Kept Secret
Because machine learning algorithms learn from data, you don’t need to reveal any of your secrets about how the algorithm works so other people can use it for themselves. There is also nothing stopping you from using your machine learning algorithm on a competitor’s network traffic if you were so inclined.
Disadvantages Of Machine Learning Methods
Deep neural networks can solve machine learning tasks and protect computer networks from intrusion. They can be used to create intrusion detection systems that can monitor network activity and identify potential threats.
1. Machine Learning Can Be Fooled By Simple Patterns
Any complicated data requires humans to make a number of interpretations and decisions, which is why it’s more difficult to analyze. If you give your machine learning algorithm all your data, there is a chance that it could make erroneous conclusions because it will have no context for understanding the data.
As machines become better at recognizing complex patterns and creating complex models, they are probably going to be able to draw accurate conclusions based on even more complicated data sets. This is known as overfitting the model , where the model assumes that what’s happening in the training dataset is happening in other datasets as well.
2. Machine Learning Can Learn From Non-Data
While machine learning algorithms can be trained on data, they can also potentially draw conclusions about things that aren’t even in your data set. For example, if you were analyzing someone’s online activities, there is a chance that you would pick up something about their political beliefs or sexual orientation based on their patterns of use. This is known as data leakage , and it has been used in the past to track people by analyzing what they do on the Internet.
3. Machine Learning Can Be Biased
One of the most important parts of machine learning is knowing what data you are using to train your algorithm, and especially what data you cut out. For example, if you only include Fox News results in your algorithm to predict whether a person is liberal or conservative, the machine learning model will probably be biased against Democrats.
This often stems from information engineering , where the end product is still biased even though it may be completely objective.
4. Machine Learning Can Be Hard To Understand
Since machine learning algorithms are formed by complex mathematical calculations that can run for a long time, they can be difficult to understand even by people with a high level of technical ability. This is especially true if you are using machine learning algorithms to produce predictions, which can be notoriously hard to understand.
5. Machine Learning Requires A Lot Of Data
One of the biggest requirements for using machine learning methods is having a lot of data to work with and having enough computational power to process all that data quickly. This often means you need powerful hardware like GPUs, large computers, or fast cloud computing platforms. However, some small companies might be able to use weaker hardware or even old hardware if they don’t have a huge amount of data they need to process.
6. Machine Learning Can Be Expensive
While machine learning algorithms are usually free to use, it does take some time and money to build the training dataset, which is what the algorithm uses to learn from. In some cases, getting enough data for an algorithm can be very expensive since you need a large amount of data that has already been captured by an entity. This means big companies with deep pockets can often afford better methods of data analysis than smaller companies.
7. Machine Learning Algorithms Are Complex And Difficult To Implement
Because machine learning algorithms are complex, they require people with a high level of technical skill in order to create them. This means you need to employ some developers who know how to program in a language such as Python or R, and it’s even better if they have previous experience with machine learning.
As you work through the training process, you will likely discover issues in your data collection or computational process that mean you need to tweak the algorithm a few times before it works properly.
Final Note
As machine learning progresses in the coming years, it will become easier for people to use it for their own purposes. It will also become cheaper and less difficult to implement since more engineers will be available to build models that don’t require as much data or computing power. Security experts will also be able to easily identify problems with their machine learning algorithms since they’ll have a better understanding of how they work.
There are already a number of emerging technologies that make use of machine learning for data analysis and cyber-security. One example is deep neural networks, which are based on the human brain structure known as our neocortex. This allows machines to recognize patterns by connecting neurons together in various layers until they recognize what is being seen.
Last Updated on October 11, 2023 by Priyanshi Sharma
