학술논문

Real-Time Network Packet Classification Exploiting Computer Vision Architectures
Document Type
Periodical
Source
IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society IEEE Open J. Commun. Soc. Communications Society, IEEE Open Journal of the. 5:1155-1166 2024
Subject
Communication, Networking and Broadcast Technologies
Computer vision
6G mobile communication
Feature extraction
Telecommunication traffic
Computer architecture
Convolutional neural networks
Computational modeling
DoS
computer vision
artificial intelligence
6G networks
packet classification
convolutional neural networks
Language
ISSN
2644-125X
Abstract
Forthcoming 6G/NextG networks highlight the need for advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based security mechanisms to identify malicious activities and adapt to emerging threats. In this context, the integration of computer vision techniques into the cybersecurity field is promising due to their potential for sophisticated pattern recognition. In this paper we introduce a computationally efficient classification scheme acting directly on the raw packets collected at base stations and enforcing real-time conversion of packets into images. The innovative points of the proposed solution are the lightweight implementation, aligning well with the demands of future 6G networks, and the operation at network edge, enabling early threat identification as close as possible to the packet origin. We investigate the performance of this approach both in terms of F1-score and prediction time using state-of-the-art computer vision architectures and a customized Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) in an intrusion detection problem using a 5G dataset. Experimental results show the superiority of the CNN architecture over complex models. Across multiple packet window sizes $N$ (i.e., 10, 50, 100 packets), the CNN consistently outperforms the other state-of-the-art computer vision models, achieving very high F1-scores (namely, 0.99593, 0.99860, 0.99895). A scalability analysis highlights a trade-off between CNN scalability and performance, where larger $N$ values lead to increased prediction time. On the other hand, the other computer vision models exhibit better scalability, enabling an optimal model selection without trade-offs.