AccScience Publishing / IJOCTA / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJOCTA026030009
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RESEARCH ARTICLE

A hybrid fuzzy logic-driven behavioral intrusion detection architecture integrating fuzzy clustering and adaptive machine learning for Zero-Trust networks

Muhammad Kamran1,2,3† Azhar Ali Khan4† Suneeza Hamid5 Sawera Kanwal6* Muhammad Farman1,7 Evren Hincal1,8,9 Mohamed Hafez3,10
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1 Department of Mathematics, Near East University, Nicosia , Turkey
2 International Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Sciences, The University of Lahore, Lahore , Pakistan
3 Faculty of Engineering and Quantity Surveying, INTI International University Colleges, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan , Malaysia
4 Department of Computer Science, NUML University, Multan, Punjab , Pakistan
5 Department of Information Technology, Government College Women University, Faisalabad, Punjab , Pakistan
6 Department of Computer Science, University of South Asia, Lahore, Punjab , Pakistan
7 Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Faculty of Medicine, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon , Turkey
8 Department of Mathematical Sciences, Saveetha School of Engineering, SIMATS, Chennai, Tamil Nadu , India
9 Research Center of Applied Mathematics, Khazar University, Baku , Azerbaijan
10 Department of Management, Faculty of Management, Shinawatra University, Sam Khok, Pathum Thani , Thailand
†These authors contributed equally to this work.
Received: 15 January 2026 | Revised: 20 April 2026 | Accepted: 20 April 2026 | Published online: 10 September 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
Abstract

In current Zero-Trust architectures, detecting behavioral intrusions has become critical because traditional rule-based access control systems struggle to combat polymorphic, low-and-slow, and identity-spoofing attacks. Although machine learning technologies have advanced intrusion detection through behavioral pattern modeling, the inherent ambiguity in behavioral patterns and overlapping feature distributions still degrade classification accuracy and increase false positives, especially with traditional supervised models that rely on deterministic boundary conditions. Recent approaches have focused primarily on feature extraction, pre-trained deep learning models, or rule-based validation and have not addressed uncertainty quantification, highlighting a gap between real-time inference and trust-based access enforcement. To address these issues, this paper introduces a hybrid fuzzy logic-driven behavioral intrusion detection architecture that combines fuzzy clustering with adaptive machine learning models: decision tree, logistic regression, random forest, support vector machine (SVM), and extreme gradient boosting, to improve Zero-Trust decision-making. Experimental results show that combining fuzzy membership scores with divergence scores significantly improves the SVM's predictive performance on overlapping behavioral segments in the test data, outperforming other models and achieving 98.00% accuracy, 96.50% F1-score, 97.20% recall, and 97.00% area under the curve. This research integrates uncertainty-aware fuzzy computing with continuous Zero-Trust authorization, enabling dynamic trust recalibration rather than validation against a fixed threshold. The proposed solution will better categorize high-risk events, reducing operational disruptions for legitimate users. This research also contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions), by enhancing digital infrastructure security through intelligent, adaptive cybersecurity mechanisms.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
Fuzzy logic
Fuzzy clustering
Adaptive machine learning
Support vector machine
Anomaly detection
Zero-Trust security
Behavioral intrusion detection
Industry innovation and infrastructure
Funding
This work was funded by the Faculty of Engineering and Quantity Surveying, INTI International University Colleges, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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An International Journal of Optimization and Control: Theories & Applications, Electronic ISSN: 2146-5703 Print ISSN: 2146-0957, Published by AccScience Publishing