Enhancing malware detection capabilities using deep learning with advanced hyperparameter tuning

Abstract

As the threat landscape evolves with sophisticated malware and advanced persistent threats (APTs), the need for effective detection solutions increases. Traditional methods, such as signature-based and heuristic analysis, struggle to keep up with rapidly changing malicious activities. While machine learning offers a promising approach, it often falls short due to the manual extraction and selection of features, leading to time-consuming and error-prone processes. This research introduces a novel malware detection solution leveraging deep learning and focusing on portable executable (PE) file analysis to address these weaknesses. By customizing the hyperparameters of artificial neural networks (ANN), convolutional neural networks (CNN), and recurrent neural networks (RNN), the proposed approach enhances detection capabilities. The primary objective is to overcome the limitations of traditional and machine learning methods by tailoring these deep learning algorithms. The methodology includes a comparative study to demonstrate the advantages of the customized approach over conventional methods. Key findings reveal the proposed solution’s superior performance, accuracy, and adaptability in combating evolving cyber threats. This research contributes to the development of robust and adaptive malware detection solutions.