Malware Detection and Classification using Generative Adversarial Network

The Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) are playing a crucial role in deep-learning-based malware classification to overcome the dataset imbalance and unseen malware. The Generative AI is preferably used in many applications, such as improving image resolution and generating audio, video, and text. The cybercriminals are also using the Generative AI for generating the malware and deepfake videos to harm the targeted person or device. By generating the synthetic data, it makes the deep learning model more robust to detect such types of unseen and adversarial attacks. This work utilizes GANs for generating adversarial malware samples to train a classification and detection model, improving the model’s ability to identify sophisticated malware variants. The performance of the proposed Conditional Generative Adversarial Network (CGAN) model is evaluated on a multiclass malware grayscale image dataset and a binary class malware RGB image dataset. The performance of proposed model is compared with current state-of-the-art. Results indicate a significant improvement in classification accuracy and a reduction in training time and false positives, showcasing GAN’s potential in the dynamic cybersecurity landscape.