Collaborative intrusion detection using weighted ensemble averaging deep neural network for coordinated attack detection in heterogeneous network

Detecting coordinated attacks in cybersecurity is challenging due to their sophisticated and distributed nature, making traditional Intrusion Detection Systems often ineffective, especially in heterogeneous networks with diverse devices and systems. This research introduces a novel Collaborative Intrusion Detection System (CIDS) using a Weighted Ensemble Averaging Deep Neural Network (WEA-DNN) designed to detect such attacks. The WEA-DNN combines deep learning techniques and ensemble methods to enhance detection capabilities by integrating multiple Deep Neural Network (DNN) models, each trained on different data subsets with varying architectures. Differential Evolution optimizes the model’s contributions by calculating optimal weights, allowing the system to collaboratively analyze network traffic data from diverse sources. Extensive experiments on real-world datasets like CICIDS2017, CSE-CICIDS2018, CICToNIoT, and CICBotIoT show that the CIDS framework achieves an average accuracy of 93.8%, precision of 78.6%, recall of 60.4%, and an F1-score of 62.4%, surpassing traditional ensemble models and matching the performance of local DNN models. This demonstrates the practical benefits of WEA-DNN in improving detection capabilities in real-world heterogeneous network environments, offering superior adaptability and robustness in handling complex attack patterns.