A Survey on Network Security Traffic Analysis and Anomaly Detection Techniques

With the increasingly severe network security situation, advanced network traffic anomaly detection techniques are urgently needed. This paper provides a comprehensive survey of the research status and latest progress in the field of network anomaly detection. Firstly, we introduce the basic concepts, common methods, and challenges of network traffic analysis, which lays the foundation for anomaly detection. Then, we systematically summarize the mainstream techniques in the anomaly detection field, including statistical methods, machine learning methods, deep learning methods, and behavior analysis methods, analyzing their basic principles, representative works, advantages and disadvantages, and applicable scenarios. Next, we focus on discussing the hybrid methods in the anomaly detection field, elaborating on the motivations, common strategies, and representative works of hybrid methods, and pointing out that hybrid methods are an important development direction for anomaly detection. In addition, the paper also summarizes the application effects of several types of methods in practical network security tasks and makes a quantitative comparison in tabular form. Finally, we prospect the future development trends of network anomaly detection techniques, proposing goals such as intelligentization, automation, federalization, and interpretability, while analyzing the challenges faced by anomaly detection, including data heterogeneity, complexity of security threats, model robustness, privacy protection, and interpretability. We argue that network anomaly detection requires interdisciplinary integration, strengthening of security big data governance, and a shift from passive defense to active immunity. As the strategic position of cyberspace security becomes increasingly prominent, driven by disruptive technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, and blockchain, network anomaly detection will surely usher in new development opportunities and challenges.