Enhancing Network Intrusion Detection Systems: A Multi-Layer Ensemble Approach to Mitigate Adversarial Attacks

Adversarial examples can represent a serious threat to machine learning (ML) algorithms. If used to manipulate the behaviour of ML-based Network Intrusion Detection Systems (NIDS), they can jeopardize network security. In this work, we aim to mitigate such risks by increasing the robustness of NIDS towards adversarial attacks. To that end, we explore two adversarial methods for generating malicious network traffic. The first method is based on Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) and the second one is the Fast Gradient Sign Method (FGSM). The adversarial examples generated by these methods are then used to evaluate a novel multilayer defense mechanism, specifically designed to mitigate the vulnerability of ML-based NIDS. Our solution consists of one layer of stacking classifiers and a second layer based on an autoencoder. If the incoming network data are classified as benign by the first layer, the second layer is activated to ensure that the decision made by the stacking classifier is correct. We also incorporated adversarial training to further improve the robustness of our solution. Experiments on two datasets, namely UNSW-NB15 and NSL-KDD, demonstrate that the proposed approach increases resilience to adversarial attacks.

CYPRESS: Crop Yield Prediction via Regression on Prithvi's Encoder for Satellite Sensing

Accurate and timely crop yield prediction is crucial for global food security and modern agricultural management. Traditional methods often lack the scalability and granularity required for precision farming. This paper introduces CYPRESS (Crop Yield Prediction via Regression on Prithvi's Encoder for Satellite Sensing), a deep learning model designed for high-resolution, intra-field canola yield prediction. CYPRESS leverages a pre-trained, large-scale geospatial foundation model (Prithvi-EO-2.0-600M) and adapts it for a continuous regression task, transforming multi-temporal satellite imagery into dense, pixel-level yield maps. Evaluated on a comprehensive dataset from the Canadian Prairies, CYPRESS demonstrates superior performance over existing deep learning-based yield prediction models, highlighting the effectiveness of fine-tuning foundation models for specialized agricultural applications. By providing a continuous, high-resolution output, CYPRESS offers a more actionable tool for precision agriculture than conventional classification or county-level aggregation methods. This work validates a novel approach that bridges the gap between large-scale Earth observation and on-farm decision-making, offering a scalable solution for detailed agricultural monitoring.