Suhyeon Lee¹, Hwankuk Kim^2,*

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.145, No.2, pp. 2657-2682, 2025, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2025.070627 - 26 November 2025

Abstract The open nature and heterogeneous architecture of Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) undermine the consistency of security policies and broaden the attack surface, thereby increasing the risk of security vulnerabilities. The dynamic nature of network performance and traffic patterns in Open RAN necessitates advanced detection models that can overcome the constraints of traditional techniques and adapt to evolving behaviors. This study presents a methodology for effectively detecting malicious traffic in Open RAN by utilizing an Artificial-Intelligence/Machine-Learning (AI/ML) Framework. A hybrid Transformer–Convolutional-Neural-Network (Transformer-CNN) ensemble model is employed for anomaly detection. The proposed model generates final More >

Boniface Wambui^1,*, Margaret Mwinji¹, Hellen Nyambura²

Journal of Cyber Security, Vol.7, pp. 463-482, 2025, DOI:10.32604/jcs.2025.069444 - 23 October 2025

Abstract As universities rapidly embrace digital transformation, their growing dependence on interconnected systems for academic, research, and administrative operations has significantly heightened their exposure to sophisticated cyber threats. Traditional defenses such as firewalls and signature-based intrusion detection systems have proven inadequate against evolving attacks like malware, phishing, ransomware, and advanced persistent threats (APTs). This growing complexity necessitates intelligent, adaptive, and anticipatory cybersecurity strategies. Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers a transformative approach by enabling automated threat detection, anomaly identification, and real-time incident response. This study sought to design and evaluate an AI-driven cybersecurity framework specifically for university networks… More >

Asad Iqbal¹, Mehdi Hussain^1,*, Qaiser Riaz¹, Madiha Khalid¹, Rafia Mumtaz¹, Ki-Hyun Jung^2,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.85, No.1, pp. 1693-1714, 2025, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.064260 - 29 August 2025

Abstract Ransomware, particularly crypto-ransomware, remains a significant cybersecurity challenge, encrypting victim data and demanding a ransom, often leaving the data irretrievable even if payment is made. This study proposes an early detection approach to mitigate such threats by identifying ransomware activity before the encryption process begins. The approach employs a two-tiered approach: a signature-based method using hashing techniques to match known threats and a dynamic behavior-based analysis leveraging Cuckoo Sandbox and machine learning algorithms. A critical feature is the integration of the most effective Application Programming Interface call monitoring, which analyzes system-level interactions such as file More >

Alexej Schelle^1,2,*

Journal of Information Hiding and Privacy Protection, Vol.7, pp. 33-44, 2025, DOI:10.32604/jihpp.2025.067510 - 31 July 2025

Abstract This work presents an encryption model based on Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). Encryption of RTF-8 data is realized by dynamically generating decimal numbers that lead to the encryption and decryption of alphabetic strings in integer representation by simple addition rules, the modulus of the dimension of the considered alphabet. The binary numbers for the private dynamic keys correspond to the binary numbers of public reference keys, as defined by a specific GAN configuration. For reversible encryption with a bijective mapping between dynamic and reference keys, as defined by the GAN encryptor, secure text encryption can… More >

Rongbo Sun, Jinlong Fei^*, Yuefei Zhu, Zhongyu Guo

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.84, No.2, pp. 3765-3786, 2025, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.064849 - 03 July 2025

Abstract Moving Target Defense (MTD) necessitates scientifically effective decision-making methodologies for defensive technology implementation. While most MTD decision studies focus on accurately identifying optimal strategies, the issue of optimal defense timing remains underexplored. Current default approaches—periodic or overly frequent MTD triggers—lead to suboptimal trade-offs among system security, performance, and cost. The timing of MTD strategy activation critically impacts both defensive efficacy and operational overhead, yet existing frameworks inadequately address this temporal dimension. To bridge this gap, this paper proposes a Stackelberg-FlipIt game model that formalizes asymmetric cyber conflicts as alternating control over attack surfaces, thereby capturing More >

Qichang Li^1,2,*, Bing Bu¹, Junyi Zhao¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.83, No.3, pp. 4281-4313, 2025, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.061525 - 19 May 2025

Abstract With the integration of informatization and intelligence into the Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) systems, the system is facing an increasing number of information security threats. As an important method of characterizing the system security status, the security situation assessment is used to analyze the system security situation. However, existing situation assessment methods fail to integrate the coupling relationship between the physical layer and the information layer of the CBTC systems, and cannot dynamically characterize the real-time security situation changes under cyber attacks. In this paper, a hierarchical security situation assessment approach is proposed to address… More >

Feng Wei^*, Zhao Chen, Yin Wang, Dongqing Liu, Xun Zhang, Zhao Zhou

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.82, No.3, pp. 5325-5341, 2025, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.058802 - 06 March 2025

Abstract The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) with advanced power technologies is transforming energy system management, particularly through real-time data monitoring and intelligent decision-making driven by Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC). However, the openness of power system channels and the resource-constrained nature of power sensors have led to new challenges for the secure transmission of power data and decision instructions. Although traditional public key cryptographic primitives can offer high security, the substantial key management and computational overhead associated with these primitives make them unsuitable for power systems. To ensure the real-time and security of power data… More >

Brij B. Gupta^1,2,3,4,*, Akshat Gaurav⁵, Varsha Arya^6,7, Razaz Waheeb Attar⁸, Shavi Bansal⁹, Ahmed Alhomoud¹⁰, Kwok Tai Chui¹¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.81, No.3, pp. 4109-4124, 2024, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2024.056476 - 19 December 2024

Abstract Phishing attacks seriously threaten information privacy and security within the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem. Numerous phishing attack detection solutions have been developed for IoT; however, many of these are either not optimally efficient or lack the lightweight characteristics needed for practical application. This paper proposes and optimizes a lightweight deep-learning model for phishing attack detection. Our model employs a two-fold optimization approach: first, it utilizes the analysis of the variance (ANOVA) F-test to select the optimal features for phishing detection, and second, it applies the Cuckoo Search algorithm to tune the hyperparameters (learning rate… More >

Carlos Merlano^*

Journal of Cyber Security, Vol.6, pp. 89-116, 2024, DOI:10.32604/jcs.2024.056164 - 06 December 2024

Abstract The constantly increasing degree and frequency of cyber threats require the emergence of flexible and intelligent approaches to systems’ protection. Despite the calls for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in strengthening cyber security, there needs to be more literature on an integrated view of the application areas, open issues or trends in AI and ML for cyber security. Based on 90 studies, in the following literature review, the author categorizes and systematically analyzes the current research field to fill this gap. The review evidences that, in contrast to rigid rule-based… More >

Hira Akhtar Butt¹, Khoula Said Al Harthy², Mumtaz Ali Shah³, Mudassar Hussain^2,*, Rashid Amin^4,*, Mujeeb Ur Rehman¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.81, No.2, pp. 3003-3031, 2024, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2024.057185 - 18 November 2024

Abstract Detecting sophisticated cyberattacks, mainly Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, with unexpected patterns remains challenging in modern networks. Traditional detection systems often struggle to mitigate such attacks in conventional and software-defined networking (SDN) environments. While Machine Learning (ML) models can distinguish between benign and malicious traffic, their limited feature scope hinders the detection of new zero-day or low-rate DDoS attacks requiring frequent retraining. In this paper, we propose a novel DDoS detection framework that combines Machine Learning (ML) and Ensemble Learning (EL) techniques to improve DDoS attack detection and mitigation in SDN environments. Our model… More >