An Enhanced Keylogger Detection Systems Using Recurrent Neural Networks Enabled with Feature Selection Model

Keyloggers are malicious software programs that record keystrokes of users without their consent or knowledge. They can steal sensitive information like credit card numbers and passwords. They pose a significant threat to users’ privacy and security since they capture keystroke data. Keylogger detection systems play a vital role in safeguarding users from cyberattacks and mitigating the potential harm caused by keyloggers. Keylogger detection systems employing deep learning have been widely used for identifying and mitigating cyber threats associated with keyloggers. However, they struggle to identify new or unfamiliar keylogger samples. This study aims to explore deep learning techniques with feature selection model to detect keylogger. This study employs Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) using a collection of known keylogger dataset. Furthermore, a correlation-based feature extraction method was applied to identify the most relevant features for the model, highlighting the importance of specific features, such as URG flag Count, ACK flag count, and Idle Mean, in differentiating between benign and keylog classes. The proposed model demonstrates superior accuracy of 0.8763 and precision of 0.8569 compared to a baseline model using Logistic Regression (LR) 0.7721 and 0.7407, respectively, indicating a better balance between accurate classification and minimizing false negatives and false positives. The findings from this study help to improve keylogger detection methods, making them more powerful and efficient. These results suggest that a keylogger-based detection system employing a deep learning approach can be a valuable tool for addressing the complex and evolving landscape of cyber threats related to keylogging.