BGL-PhishNet: Phishing Website Detection Using Hybrid Model-BERT, GNN, and LightGBM
Phishing attacks exploit human and technological vulnerabilities to steal sensitive information, posing a significant threat to online security. To address this challenge, this research introduces a new hybrid method for phishing detection using three advanced techniques: BERT for analyzing texts, Graph Neural Networks for analyzing URLs, and LightGBM for extracting key metadata features. The hybrid approach combines these techniques into a multi-layered model to improve detection accuracy by focusing on text, URL structure, and metadata. The hybrid model achieves an accuracy of 97.3%, outperforming current state-of-the-art models. Experimental results show that this method reduces false positives and enhances phishing detection across various online platforms. The system ensures better real-time performance by integrating outputs from BERT, GNNs, and LightGBM. It also addresses evolving phishing tactics by considering both lexical and structural URL features. This multi-level approach highlights the importance of strengthening online security through robust detection mechanisms.
Authors
- Manu J. Pillai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2938-0281)
- S Remya
- Yongyun Cho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4855-4163)
- Somula Rama Subbareddy
- B. Aparna
Institutions
- Sunchon National University (KR)
- Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (IN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- IEEE Access
- Published
- 2025-01-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2025.3551542
- Citations
- 10
- Primary Topic
- Spam and Phishing Detection
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 32.46
Funders
- Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea