Tuning the k value in k-nearest neighbors for malware detection

Abstract

Malicious software, also referred to as malware, poses a serious threat to computer networks, user privacy, and user systems. Effective cybersecurity depends on the correct detection and classification of malware. In order to improve its effectiveness, the K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) method is applied systematically in this study to the task of malware detection. The study investigates the effect of the number of neighbors (K) parameter on the KNN's performance. MalMem-2022 malware datasets and relevant evaluation criteria like accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score will be used to assess the efficacy of the suggested technique. The experiments evaluate how parameter tuning affects the accuracy of malware detection by comparing the performance of various parameter setups. The study findings show that careful parameter adjustment considerably boosts the KNN method's malware detection capability. The research also highlights the potential of KNN with parameter adjustment as a useful tool for malware detection in real-world circumstances, allowing for prompt and precise identification of malware.