This paper is published in Volume-12, Issue-1, 2026
Area
Cloud Computing
Author
Tolulope Onasanya, Hannah I. Tanimowo, John Aigberua, Oduwunmi Esther Odukoya
Org/Univ
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, USA, USA
Pub. Date
21 February, 2026
Paper ID
V12I1-1155
Publisher
Keywords
DNS Attack, Cloud, Machine Learning, Data Exfiltration.

Citationsacebook

IEEE
Tolulope Onasanya, Hannah I. Tanimowo, John Aigberua, Oduwunmi Esther Odukoya. Lightweight Machine Learning Models for Detecting DNS Data Exfiltration Attacks in Cloud and Enterprise Networks, International Journal of Advance Research, Ideas and Innovations in Technology, www.IJARIIT.com.

APA
Tolulope Onasanya, Hannah I. Tanimowo, John Aigberua, Oduwunmi Esther Odukoya (2026). Lightweight Machine Learning Models for Detecting DNS Data Exfiltration Attacks in Cloud and Enterprise Networks. International Journal of Advance Research, Ideas and Innovations in Technology, 12(1) www.IJARIIT.com.

MLA
Tolulope Onasanya, Hannah I. Tanimowo, John Aigberua, Oduwunmi Esther Odukoya. "Lightweight Machine Learning Models for Detecting DNS Data Exfiltration Attacks in Cloud and Enterprise Networks." International Journal of Advance Research, Ideas and Innovations in Technology 12.1 (2026). www.IJARIIT.com.

Abstract

Cloud and Enterprise Networks are the foundation of today's digital age, facilitating frictionless communication and service delivery. Cloud and Enterprise Network attacks increasingly depend on trusted protocols, and DNS Data Exfiltration Attacks in Cloud and Enterprise Networks have evolved as a devious and powerful means to evade classic defences. Detecting DNS Data Exfiltration Attacks in Cloud and Enterprise Networks is therefore a pressing challenge that requires efficient and accurate solutions. This study investigates Machine Learning Models for Detecting DNS Data Exfiltration Attacks in Cloud and Enterprise Networks, focusing on lightweight approaches such as Random Forest, Decision Tree, Multi-Layer Perceptron, Logistic Regression, and Gaussian Naïve Bayes. Both Random Forest and Decision Tree achieved perfect evaluation scores (100%) across standard metrics, but closer inspection of confusion matrices revealed Random Forest as the superior model, misclassifying only two malicious instances while generating no false positives. The significance of this research lies in demonstrating that lightweight models, particularly Random Forest, can provide highly accurate, resource-efficient, and practical real-time protection against DNS exfiltration threats, ensuring the resilience of cloud and enterprise infrastructures.