{"id":"https://openalex.org/W7128770664","doi":"https://doi.org/10.3390/info17020194","title":"Real-Time Ransomware Detection Using Reinforcement Learning Agents","display_name":"Real-Time Ransomware Detection Using Reinforcement Learning Agents","publication_year":2026,"publication_date":"2026-02-13","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W7128770664","doi":"https://doi.org/10.3390/info17020194"},"language":"en","primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.3390/info17020194","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.3390/info17020194","pdf_url":"https://www.mdpi.com/2078-2489/17/2/194/pdf?version=1770984552","source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4210219776","display_name":"Information","issn_l":"2078-2489","issn":["2078-2489"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":true,"is_core":true,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/P4310310987","host_organization_name":"Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/P4310310987"],"host_organization_lineage_names":["Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute"],"type":"journal"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Information","raw_type":"journal-article"},"type":"article","indexed_in":["crossref","doaj"],"open_access":{"is_oa":true,"oa_status":"gold","oa_url":"https://www.mdpi.com/2078-2489/17/2/194/pdf?version=1770984552","any_repository_has_fulltext":false},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5038072669","display_name":"Kutub Thakur","orcid":null},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I142823887","display_name":"St. John's University","ror":"https://ror.org/00bgtad15","country_code":"US","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I142823887"]}],"countries":["US"],"is_corresponding":true,"raw_author_name":"Kutub Thakur","raw_affiliation_strings":["College of Professional Studies, St. John\u2019s University, New York, NY 11439, USA"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4916-7026","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"College of Professional Studies, St. John\u2019s University, New York, NY 11439, USA","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I142823887"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5049385876","display_name":"Md Liakat Ali","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8945-3230"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I186776151","display_name":"Rider University","ror":"https://ror.org/01dgn5344","country_code":"US","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I186776151"]}],"countries":["US"],"is_corresponding":true,"raw_author_name":"Md Liakat Ali","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Computer Science & Physics, Rider University, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648, USA"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8945-3230","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Computer Science & Physics, Rider University, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648, USA","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I186776151"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5026801280","display_name":"Suzanna Schmeelk","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1886-3798"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I142823887","display_name":"St. John's University","ror":"https://ror.org/00bgtad15","country_code":"US","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I142823887"]}],"countries":["US"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Suzanna Schmeelk","raw_affiliation_strings":["College of Professional Studies, St. John\u2019s University, New York, NY 11439, USA"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"College of Professional Studies, St. John\u2019s University, New York, NY 11439, USA","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I142823887"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5039743789","display_name":"Joan E. DeBello","orcid":null},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I142823887","display_name":"St. John's University","ror":"https://ror.org/00bgtad15","country_code":"US","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I142823887"]}],"countries":["US"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Joan Debello","raw_affiliation_strings":["College of Professional Studies, St. John\u2019s University, New York, NY 11439, USA"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"College of Professional Studies, St. John\u2019s University, New York, NY 11439, USA","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I142823887"]}]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5101911906","display_name":"Md. Mustafizur Rahman","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3590-4523"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I125924841","display_name":"Mercy University","ror":"https://ror.org/02s99ck98","country_code":"US","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I125924841"]}],"countries":["US"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Md Mustafizur Rahman","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Mathematics and Computer Sciences, Mercy University, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522, USA"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Mathematics and Computer Sciences, Mercy University, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522, USA","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I125924841"]}]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":1,"institutions_distinct_count":3,"corresponding_author_ids":["https://openalex.org/A5038072669","https://openalex.org/A5049385876"],"corresponding_institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I142823887","https://openalex.org/I186776151"],"apc_list":{"value":1600,"currency":"CHF","value_usd":1782},"apc_paid":{"value":1600,"currency":"CHF","value_usd":1782},"fwci":0.0,"has_fulltext":true,"cited_by_count":0,"citation_normalized_percentile":{"value":0.18508908,"is_in_top_1_percent":false,"is_in_top_10_percent":false},"cited_by_percentile_year":null,"biblio":{"volume":"17","issue":"2","first_page":"194","last_page":"194"},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11241","display_name":"Advanced Malware Detection Techniques","score":0.9815999865531921,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1711","display_name":"Signal Processing"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11241","display_name":"Advanced Malware Detection Techniques","score":0.9815999865531921,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1711","display_name":"Signal Processing"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10400","display_name":"Network Security and Intrusion Detection","score":0.0071000000461936,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1705","display_name":"Computer Networks and Communications"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10734","display_name":"Information and Cyber Security","score":0.0020000000949949026,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1710","display_name":"Information Systems"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/ransomware","display_name":"Ransomware","score":0.9052000045776367},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/reinforcement-learning","display_name":"Reinforcement learning","score":0.7623999714851379},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/robustness","display_name":"Robustness (evolution)","score":0.6039000153541565},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/supervised-learning","display_name":"Supervised learning","score":0.3991999924182892},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/latency","display_name":"Latency (audio)","score":0.36399999260902405},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/learning-classifier-system","display_name":"Learning classifier system","score":0.36340001225471497},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/obfuscation","display_name":"Obfuscation","score":0.33899998664855957}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2777667771","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q926331","display_name":"Ransomware","level":3,"score":0.9052000045776367},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.7698000073432922},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C97541855","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q830687","display_name":"Reinforcement learning","level":2,"score":0.7623999714851379},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C63479239","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7353546","display_name":"Robustness (evolution)","level":3,"score":0.6039000153541565},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C154945302","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11660","display_name":"Artificial intelligence","level":1,"score":0.5457000136375427},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C119857082","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2539","display_name":"Machine learning","level":1,"score":0.5259000062942505},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C136389625","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q334384","display_name":"Supervised learning","level":3,"score":0.3991999924182892},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C82876162","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17096504","display_name":"Latency (audio)","level":2,"score":0.36399999260902405},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C199190896","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3509276","display_name":"Learning classifier system","level":3,"score":0.36340001225471497},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C40305131","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2616305","display_name":"Obfuscation","level":2,"score":0.33899998664855957},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C541664917","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14001","display_name":"Malware","level":2,"score":0.334199994802475},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C51632099","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3985153","display_name":"Training set","level":2,"score":0.32690000534057617},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C38652104","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3510521","display_name":"Computer security","level":1,"score":0.3221000134944916},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2777210771","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4927124","display_name":"Block (permutation group theory)","level":2,"score":0.30709999799728394},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2989277270","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q168338","display_name":"Behavioral analysis","level":2,"score":0.30379998683929443},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C124101348","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q172491","display_name":"Data mining","level":1,"score":0.2888999879360199},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C50644808","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q192776","display_name":"Artificial neural network","level":2,"score":0.2777000069618225},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C67203356","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1321905","display_name":"Reinforcement","level":2,"score":0.27469998598098755},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C52622490","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1026626","display_name":"Feature extraction","level":2,"score":0.25279998779296875}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":2,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.3390/info17020194","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.3390/info17020194","pdf_url":"https://www.mdpi.com/2078-2489/17/2/194/pdf?version=1770984552","source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4210219776","display_name":"Information","issn_l":"2078-2489","issn":["2078-2489"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":true,"is_core":true,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/P4310310987","host_organization_name":"Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/P4310310987"],"host_organization_lineage_names":["Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute"],"type":"journal"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Information","raw_type":"journal-article"},{"id":"pmh:oai:doaj.org/article:760bba8bb9c847c385324e1b9bc94418","is_oa":false,"landing_page_url":"https://doaj.org/article/760bba8bb9c847c385324e1b9bc94418","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306401280","display_name":"DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":null,"host_organization_name":null,"host_organization_lineage":[],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"submittedVersion","is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":"Information, Vol 17, Iss 2, p 194 (2026)","raw_type":"article"}],"best_oa_location":{"id":"doi:10.3390/info17020194","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.3390/info17020194","pdf_url":"https://www.mdpi.com/2078-2489/17/2/194/pdf?version=1770984552","source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4210219776","display_name":"Information","issn_l":"2078-2489","issn":["2078-2489"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":true,"is_core":true,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/P4310310987","host_organization_name":"Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/P4310310987"],"host_organization_lineage_names":["Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute"],"type":"journal"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Information","raw_type":"journal-article"},"sustainable_development_goals":[{"display_name":"Peace, Justice and strong institutions","id":"https://metadata.un.org/sdg/16","score":0.5870162844657898}],"awards":[],"funders":[],"has_content":{"grobid_xml":true,"pdf":true},"content_urls":{"pdf":"https://content.openalex.org/works/W7128770664.pdf","grobid_xml":"https://content.openalex.org/works/W7128770664.grobid-xml"},"referenced_works_count":30,"referenced_works":["https://openalex.org/W3127425528","https://openalex.org/W3128013500","https://openalex.org/W3134671698","https://openalex.org/W3154489205","https://openalex.org/W3213797014","https://openalex.org/W4225768045","https://openalex.org/W4280524058","https://openalex.org/W4288760578","https://openalex.org/W4363648096","https://openalex.org/W4387612751","https://openalex.org/W4388379719","https://openalex.org/W4390719308","https://openalex.org/W4391558490","https://openalex.org/W4391935911","https://openalex.org/W4392158281","https://openalex.org/W4392715596","https://openalex.org/W4393276298","https://openalex.org/W4396666545","https://openalex.org/W4400262757","https://openalex.org/W4402711998","https://openalex.org/W4403968878","https://openalex.org/W4404090734","https://openalex.org/W4404109426","https://openalex.org/W4407430045","https://openalex.org/W4407622892","https://openalex.org/W4408540800","https://openalex.org/W4409723405","https://openalex.org/W4412742275","https://openalex.org/W4414727923","https://openalex.org/W7092289885"],"related_works":[],"abstract_inverted_index":{"Traditional":[0],"signature-based":[1],"anti-malware":[2],"tools":[3],"often":[4],"fail":[5],"to":[6,12,59,100,129,134],"detect":[7],"zero-day":[8],"ransomware":[9,23,76,130],"attacks":[10],"due":[11],"their":[13],"reliance":[14],"on":[15,69],"known":[16],"patterns.":[17],"This":[18,122],"paper":[19],"presents":[20],"a":[21,31,92,125],"real-time":[22,120],"detection":[24,94],"framework":[25],"that":[26,86,132],"models":[27],"system":[28],"behavior":[29],"as":[30,79],"Reinforcement":[32],"Learning":[33],"(RL)":[34],"environment.":[35],"Behavioral":[36],"features\u2014including":[37],"file":[38],"entropy,":[39],"CPU":[40],"usage,":[41],"and":[42,83,97,103,110,117],"registry":[43],"changes\u2014are":[44],"extracted":[45],"from":[46],"dynamic":[47],"analysis":[48,112],"logs":[49],"generated":[50],"by":[51,64],"Cuckoo":[52],"Sandbox.":[53],"A":[54],"(DQN)":[55],"agent":[56,90],"is":[57],"trained":[58],"proactively":[60],"block":[61],"malicious":[62],"actions":[63],"maximizing":[65],"long-term":[66],"rewards":[67],"based":[68],"observed":[70],"behavior.":[71],"Experimental":[72],"evaluation":[73],"across":[74],"multiple":[75],"families":[77],"such":[78],"WannaCry,":[80],"Locky,":[81],"Cerber,":[82],"Ryuk":[84],"demonstrates":[85],"the":[87,114],"proposed":[88],"RL":[89],"achieves":[91],"superior":[93],"accuracy,":[95],"precision,":[96],"F1-score":[98],"compared":[99],"existing":[101],"static":[102],"supervised":[104],"learning":[105],"methods.":[106],"Furthermore,":[107],"ablation":[108],"tests":[109],"latency":[111],"confirm":[113],"model\u2019s":[115],"robustness":[116],"suitability":[118],"for":[119],"deployment.":[121],"work":[123],"introduces":[124],"behavior-driven,":[126],"generalizable":[127],"approach":[128],"defense":[131],"adapts":[133],"unseen":[135],"threats":[136],"through":[137],"continual":[138],"learning.":[139]},"counts_by_year":[],"updated_date":"2026-07-23T08:03:31.855105","created_date":"2026-02-14T00:00:00"}