Optimal Graph Convolutional Neural Network-Based Ransomware Detection for Cybersecurity in IoT Environment

• Published in: Applied sciences 2023-04, Vol.13 (8), p.5167
• Main Authors: Khalid Alkahtani, Hend, Mahmood, Khalid, Khalid, Majdi, Othman, Mahmoud, Al Duhayyim, Mesfer, Osman, Azza Elneil, Alneil, Amani A., Zamani, Abu Sarwar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algorithms; Classification; Computer simulation; Cybersecurity; Cyberterrorism; Data security; deep learning; Feature selection; Field programmable gate arrays; Graph neural networks; Internet of Things; Learning; Malware; Neural networks; Optimization; Ransomware; Search algorithms; Smart buildings
• ISSN: 2076-3417; 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app13085167

The fast development of the Internet of Things (IoT) and widespread utilization in a large number of areas, such as vehicle IoT, industrial control, healthcare, and smart homes, has made IoT security increasingly prominent. Ransomware is a type of malware which encrypts the victim’s records and demands a ransom payment for restoring access. The effective detection of ransomware attacks highly depends on how its traits are discovered and how precisely its activities are understood. In this article, we propose an Optimal Graph Convolutional Neural Network based Ransomware Detection (OGCNN-RWD) technique for cybersecurity in an IoT environment. The OGCNN-RWD technique involves learning enthusiasm for teaching learning-based optimization (LETLBO) algorithms for the feature subset selection process. For ransomware classification, the GCNN model is used in this study, and its hyperparameters can be optimally chosen by the harmony search algorithm (HSA). For exhibiting the greater performance of the OGCNN-RWD approach, a series of simulations were made on the ransomware database. The simulation result portrays the betterment of the OGCNN-RWD system over other existing techniques with an accuracy of 99.64%.