arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 31

REPLICANT: Learning Policies for Evading and Hardening Malware Detectors

The paper introduces Replicant, a deep reinforcement learning framework that learns to evade malware detectors under a strict label‑only black‑box threat model. Replicant generates reusable policies for modifying malware samples and deciding when to query the target, and it transfers across different samples, detectors, and feature spaces. In experiments on seven Android malware detectors and three feature spaces, Replicant achieves a mean attack success rate of 78.8%, outperforming state‑of‑the‑art methods by 20.9%–39.2% and providing a stronger signal for adversarial training to harden detectors.

By Shae McFadden, Ilias Tsingenopoulos, Mario D'Onghia, Alexander Herzog, Myles Foley, Chris Hicks, Lorenzo Cavallaro, Fabio Pierazzi
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 25

Classifier-Dependent Benefits of Pseudo-Labeling for Semi-Supervised Android Malware Attribution

The study evaluates pseudo‑labeling for semi‑supervised learning on Android malware attribution using six classifiers. Results show that the benefit of SSL varies strongly by classifier: SVM gains the most, LightGBM improves modestly, and Random Forest can be harmed at low label ratios. The approach particularly helps hard‑to‑classify families and achieves near‑optimal performance with about 800 labeled samples.

By Md Rafid Islam, Zahid Hasan, Hafiz Abdur Rahman
arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 5

ShielDroid: A Hybrid Approach Integrating Machine and Deep Learning for Android Malware Detection

arXiv:2608. 03250v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: The rapid advancement of modern technology has led to a significant increase in the use of smart devices, such as smartphones and tablets, resulting in the widespread adoption of mobile applications.

By Md Faisal Ahmed, Zarin Tasnim Biash, Abu Raihan Shakil, Ahmed Ann Noor Ryen, Arman Hossain, Faisal Bin Ashraf, Muhammad Iqbal Hossain