{"id":2698,"date":"2026-08-30T15:22:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T15:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/?page_id=2698"},"modified":"2026-08-30T15:44:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T15:44:36","slug":"cyse-420-applied-ml-in-cybersecurity","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/coursework\/cybersecurity-applications\/cyse-420-applied-ml-in-cybersecurity\/","title":{"rendered":"CYSE 420: Applied ML in Cybersecurity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\" \/>\n\n\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Course Status: In Progress &#8211; Fall 2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h1>\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/h1>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center\">Applied Machine Learning in Cybersecurity<\/h1>\n<p>This course applies machine learning to real cybersecurity problems, moving from foundational AI\/ML concepts through supervised, unsupervised, and deep learning models. Coursework covers spam and malware classification, intrusion detection with ensemble methods, anomaly detection on network traffic, and time-series analysis using LSTM networks. Hands-on projects use real-world datasets in Python, with emphasis on model evaluation, performance tuning, and the ethical and privacy considerations that govern AI-driven security tooling.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83e\udde0 What This Course Demonstrates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This coursework demonstrates the ability to take a security problem, select an appropriate model, train and evaluate it against real data, and interpret the results in operational terms. It bridges the gap between security operations and data science: understanding not just which model to apply, but what its false-positive rate costs a SOC team, why a black-box model creates accountability risk, and where automated detection should defer to human review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Skills &amp; Topics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\ud83e\udd16 Models &amp; Methods<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Supervised classification (k-NN, decision trees, Naive Bayes, logistic regression)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ensemble methods (random forests, boosting)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Unsupervised learning and clustering for anomaly detection<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Neural networks, LSTM, and transfer learning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Adversarial ML and generative models<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\ud83d\udcca Applied Data Science<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Feature engineering, preprocessing, and scaling<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Model evaluation (precision, recall, F1, AUC-ROC, confusion matrix)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hyperparameter tuning and cross-validation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Python stack: scikit-learn, NumPy, pandas, PyTorch, JupyterLab<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\ud83d\udd10 Security Applications &amp; Governance<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Spam\/phishing, malware, and intrusion detection<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Time-series anomaly detection on traffic and system logs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Model interpretability and accountability in security decisions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Privacy, data protection (GDPR, CCPA), and algorithmic bias<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Course Materials<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Mathematical Foundations of ML Security Models<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udcd0 An analysis of how linear algebra and probability distributions operate inside four machine learning models used in security contexts: Naive Bayes, logistic and softmax regression, neural networks, and Gaussian anomaly detection. Examines tensor representation of feature data, matrix operations underlying model computation, and how Bernoulli and Gaussian distributions shape classification behavior and detection thresholds.<\/p>\n\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38189\/2026\/08\/Mod_1_Assignment_Fall2026_CYSE-420_fd.pdf\" class=\"pdfemb-viewer\" style=\"\" data-width=\"max\" data-height=\"max\"  data-toolbar=\"both\" data-toolbar-fixed=\"on\">Mod_1_Assignment_Fall2026_CYSE-420_fd<br\/><\/a>\n<p class=\"wp-block-pdfemb-pdf-embedder-viewer\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-social-links has-normal-icon-size has-visible-labels has-icon-color has-icon-background-color is-style-default is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-social-links-layout-1 wp-block-social-links-is-layout-flex\"><li style=\"color: #ffffff; background-color: #cf2e2e; \" class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-chain has-white-color wp-block-social-link\"><a rel=\"https:\/\/www.credly.com\/users\/carl-lochstampfor-jr noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38189\/2026\/08\/Mod_1_Assignment_Fall2026_CYSE-420_fd.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M15.6,7.2H14v1.5h1.6c2,0,3.7,1.7,3.7,3.7s-1.7,3.7-3.7,3.7H14v1.5h1.6c2.8,0,5.2-2.3,5.2-5.2,0-2.9-2.3-5.2-5.2-5.2zM4.7,12.4c0-2,1.7-3.7,3.7-3.7H10V7.2H8.4c-2.9,0-5.2,2.3-5.2,5.2,0,2.9,2.3,5.2,5.2,5.2H10v-1.5H8.4c-2,0-3.7-1.7-3.7-3.7zm4.6.9h5.3v-1.5H9.3v1.5z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label\">Full Screen or Download<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Machine Learning for DDoS Detection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83c\udf10 An assessment of how machine learning strengthens cybersecurity defenses, focused on distributed denial-of-service detection. Covers how models identify volumetric and behavioral traffic anomalies that static rule-based systems miss, alongside the practical limitations of deployment: data quality, adversarial evasion, and false-positive cost at scale.<\/p>\n\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38189\/2026\/08\/Mod_1_DB_Fall2026_CYSE420.pdf\" class=\"pdfemb-viewer\" style=\"\" data-width=\"max\" data-height=\"max\"  data-toolbar=\"both\" data-toolbar-fixed=\"on\">Mod_1_DB_Fall2026_CYSE420<br\/><\/a>\n<p class=\"wp-block-pdfemb-pdf-embedder-viewer\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-social-links has-normal-icon-size has-visible-labels has-icon-color has-icon-background-color is-style-default is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-social-links-layout-2 wp-block-social-links-is-layout-flex\"><li style=\"color: #ffffff; background-color: #cf2e2e; \" class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-chain has-white-color wp-block-social-link\"><a rel=\"https:\/\/www.credly.com\/users\/carl-lochstampfor-jr noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38189\/2026\/08\/Mod_1_DB_Fall2026_CYSE420.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M15.6,7.2H14v1.5h1.6c2,0,3.7,1.7,3.7,3.7s-1.7,3.7-3.7,3.7H14v1.5h1.6c2.8,0,5.2-2.3,5.2-5.2,0-2.9-2.3-5.2-5.2-5.2zM4.7,12.4c0-2,1.7-3.7,3.7-3.7H10V7.2H8.4c-2.9,0-5.2,2.3-5.2,5.2,0,2.9,2.3,5.2,5.2,5.2H10v-1.5H8.4c-2,0-3.7-1.7-3.7-3.7zm4.6.9h5.3v-1.5H9.3v1.5z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label\">Full Screen or Download<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Course Status: In Progress &#8211; Fall 2026 \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014 Applied Machine Learning in Cybersecurity This course applies machine learning to real cybersecurity problems, moving from foundational AI\/ML concepts through supervised, unsupervised, and deep learning models. Coursework covers spam and malware classification, intrusion detection with ensemble methods, anomaly detection on network traffic, and time-series analysis using LSTM&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/coursework\/cybersecurity-applications\/cyse-420-applied-ml-in-cybersecurity\/\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":30379,"featured_media":0,"parent":2309,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2698"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30379"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2698"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2716,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2698\/revisions\/2716"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/locky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}