Protecting IoT Devices from BotNet Threats: A Federated Machine Learning Solution

Abstract

The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices has brought unprecedented convenience to our lives, but it has also opened the door to new security challenges. One of the most pressing threats in the IoT landscape is the proliferation of BotNets, which can compromise and control a multitude of devices for malicious purposes. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to address this issue: a Federated Machine Learning Solution for BotNet detection in IoT environments. Our method leverages the collective intelligence of distributed IoT devices while respecting privacy constraints, ensuring that sensitive data never leaves the device. We present a detailed methodology for federated model construction, including data collection, local model training, and secure aggregation. The resulting federated model offers improved accuracy and robustness in BotNet detection, as demonstrated through rigorous evaluation on the N-BaIoT dataset. Our findings underscore the effectiveness of this approach in enhancing IoT device security by detecting and mitigating BotNet threats while safeguarding data privacy. This paper contributes to the advancement of IoT security strategies and provides a framework for protecting IoT devices against evolving threats in a federated and privacy-preserving manner.