A Robust Framework for Detecting Brute-Force Attacks through Deep Learning Techniques

Abstract: A considerable concern arises with the precise identification of brute-force threats within a networked environment. It emphasizes the need for new methods, as existing ones often lead to many false alarms, as well as delays in real-time threat detection. To tackle these issues, this study proposes a novel intrusion detection framework that utilizes deep learning models for more accurate and efficient detection of brute-force attacks. The framework’s structure includes data collection and preprocessing components performed at the outset of the study using the CSE-CICIDS2018 dataset. The design architecture includes data collection and preprocessing steps. Feature extraction and selection techniques are employed to optimize data for model training. Further, after building the model, various attributes are extracted from the data from feature selection to be used in the training. Then, the construction of multiple architectures of deep learning algorithms, which include Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN), and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) models. Evaluation results show CNN and LSTM achieved the highest accuracy of 99.995% and 99.99% respectively. It showcases its ability to detect complex attack patterns in network traffic. It indicates that the CNN network got the best optimum results with a test time of 9.94 seconds. This establishes CNN as an effective method, achieving high accuracy quickly. In comparison, we have surpassed the accuracy of current methods while addressing their weaknesses. The findings are consistent with the effectiveness of CNN in brute-force attack detection frameworks as a more accurate and faster alternative, increasing the capability of detecting intrusions on a network in real-time.