Detecting intrusions in cloud-based ensembles: evaluating voting and stacking methods with machine learning classifiers

IntroductionCloud computing has revolutionized how organizations manage their infrastructure by providing scalable, on-demand services. However, the dispersed and open nature of cloud systems exposes them to a wide spectrum of cyberattacks. Machine learning provides dynamic options for detecting kno...

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Main Authors: Khawla Ali Maodah, Sharaf Alhomdy, Fursan Thabit
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-08-01
Series:Frontiers in Computer Science
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomp.2025.1623375/full
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author Khawla Ali Maodah
Sharaf Alhomdy
Fursan Thabit
author_facet Khawla Ali Maodah
Sharaf Alhomdy
Fursan Thabit
author_sort Khawla Ali Maodah
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionCloud computing has revolutionized how organizations manage their infrastructure by providing scalable, on-demand services. However, the dispersed and open nature of cloud systems exposes them to a wide spectrum of cyberattacks. Machine learning provides dynamic options for detecting known and unknown assaults, whereas typical intrusion detection systems that depend on signature or rule-based techniques find it difficult to adjust to complex cyber threats.MethodsThis study compares the efficacy of an ensemble approach (Voting Hard and Stacking) for intrusion detection in cloud environments with individual machine learning classifiers, such as Random Forest, Decision Tree, Gradient Boosting, XGBoost, Naive Bayes, Support Vector Machine, and Logistic Regression. The study uses the NSL-KDD dataset.ResultsThe results show show that while standalone models perform well, the ensemble technique offers better accuracy (almost 100%) and resilience across precision, recall, and F1-score measures. Furthermore, it is shown via feature selection methods (Random Forest, Gain Information, and Manual Selection) that the ensemble model performs consistently even when feature sets are smaller.DiscussionThese findings highlight how both individual and group Machine learning approaches may be used to improve Intrusion detection systems for cloud infrastructures, providing implementation flexibility according to threat landscapes and computing limitations.
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spelling doaj-art-97868c326a7244cd9e3743ed989cd5732025-08-20T05:32:52ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Computer Science2624-98982025-08-01710.3389/fcomp.2025.16233751623375Detecting intrusions in cloud-based ensembles: evaluating voting and stacking methods with machine learning classifiersKhawla Ali Maodah0Sharaf Alhomdy1Fursan Thabit2Department of Information Technology, Faculty of Computer and Information Technology, Sana’a University, Sana’a, YemenDepartment of Information Technology, Faculty of Computer and Information Technology, Sana’a University, Sana’a, YemenDepartment of Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ege University, Bornova, TürkiyeIntroductionCloud computing has revolutionized how organizations manage their infrastructure by providing scalable, on-demand services. However, the dispersed and open nature of cloud systems exposes them to a wide spectrum of cyberattacks. Machine learning provides dynamic options for detecting known and unknown assaults, whereas typical intrusion detection systems that depend on signature or rule-based techniques find it difficult to adjust to complex cyber threats.MethodsThis study compares the efficacy of an ensemble approach (Voting Hard and Stacking) for intrusion detection in cloud environments with individual machine learning classifiers, such as Random Forest, Decision Tree, Gradient Boosting, XGBoost, Naive Bayes, Support Vector Machine, and Logistic Regression. The study uses the NSL-KDD dataset.ResultsThe results show show that while standalone models perform well, the ensemble technique offers better accuracy (almost 100%) and resilience across precision, recall, and F1-score measures. Furthermore, it is shown via feature selection methods (Random Forest, Gain Information, and Manual Selection) that the ensemble model performs consistently even when feature sets are smaller.DiscussionThese findings highlight how both individual and group Machine learning approaches may be used to improve Intrusion detection systems for cloud infrastructures, providing implementation flexibility according to threat landscapes and computing limitations.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomp.2025.1623375/fullcloud computingmachine learningvotingstackingintrusion detection systemNSL-KDD dataset
spellingShingle Khawla Ali Maodah
Sharaf Alhomdy
Fursan Thabit
Detecting intrusions in cloud-based ensembles: evaluating voting and stacking methods with machine learning classifiers
Frontiers in Computer Science
cloud computing
machine learning
voting
stacking
intrusion detection system
NSL-KDD dataset
title Detecting intrusions in cloud-based ensembles: evaluating voting and stacking methods with machine learning classifiers
title_full Detecting intrusions in cloud-based ensembles: evaluating voting and stacking methods with machine learning classifiers
title_fullStr Detecting intrusions in cloud-based ensembles: evaluating voting and stacking methods with machine learning classifiers
title_full_unstemmed Detecting intrusions in cloud-based ensembles: evaluating voting and stacking methods with machine learning classifiers
title_short Detecting intrusions in cloud-based ensembles: evaluating voting and stacking methods with machine learning classifiers
title_sort detecting intrusions in cloud based ensembles evaluating voting and stacking methods with machine learning classifiers
topic cloud computing
machine learning
voting
stacking
intrusion detection system
NSL-KDD dataset
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomp.2025.1623375/full
work_keys_str_mv AT khawlaalimaodah detectingintrusionsincloudbasedensemblesevaluatingvotingandstackingmethodswithmachinelearningclassifiers
AT sharafalhomdy detectingintrusionsincloudbasedensemblesevaluatingvotingandstackingmethodswithmachinelearningclassifiers
AT fursanthabit detectingintrusionsincloudbasedensemblesevaluatingvotingandstackingmethodswithmachinelearningclassifiers