Next-generation cyberattack detection with large language models: anomaly analysis across heterogeneous logs

Abstract

This project explores large language models (LLMs) for anomaly detection across heterogeneous log sources. Traditional intrusion detection systems suffer from high false positive rates, semantic blindness, and data scarcity, as logs are inherently sensitive, making clean datasets rare. We address these challenges through three contributions: (1) LogAtlas-Foundation-Sessions and LogAtlas-Defense-Set, balanced and heterogeneous log datasets with explicit attack annotations and privacy preservation; (2) empirical benchmarking revealing why standard metrics such as F1 and accuracy are misleading for security applications; and (3) a two phase training framework combining log understanding (Base-AMAN, 3B parameters) with real time detection (AMAN, 0.5B parameters via knowledge distillation). Results demonstrate practical feasibility, with inference times of 0.3-0.5 seconds per session and operational costs below 50 USD per day.