<!DOCTYPE article PUBLIC "-//NLM//DTD JATS (Z39.96) Journal Archiving and Interchange DTD v1.0 20120330//EN" "JATS-archivearticle1.dtd">
<article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">
  <front>
    <journal-meta />
    <article-meta>
      <title-group>
        <article-title>Integration of NLP and ML in cloud infrastructure security</article-title>
      </title-group>
      <contrib-group>
        <contrib contrib-type="author">
          <string-name>Andrian Piskozub</string-name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff0">0</xref>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author">
          <string-name>Aziz Abibulaiev</string-name>
          <xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff0">0</xref>
        </contrib>
        <aff id="aff0">
          <label>0</label>
          <institution>Lviv Polytechnic National University</institution>
          ,
          <addr-line>Stepan Bandera Str.,12, Lviv, 79000</addr-line>
          ,
          <country country="UA">Ukraine</country>
        </aff>
      </contrib-group>
      <abstract>
        <p>This paper explores the potential integration of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies in securing cloud infrastructure. With the increasing complexity of multi-cloud and hybrid environments, stricter compliance requirements, and the rise of targeted attacks, there is a growing need for adaptive intelligent systems. Such systems should provide automated threat detection, behavioral analysis, real-time response, and dynamic access control aligned with Zero Trust principles. The paper also reviews and classifies existing solutions in this domain, including NLP modules for log, service message, and query analysis, ML modules for UEBA, threat classification, and risk assessment, as well as examples from AWS, Azure, and GCP cloud services. A critical analysis is provided on the limitations of current approaches (e.g., low explainability, overfitting issues, integration challenges with DevOps/IaC). The authors propose an original architecture of an intelligent security system with combined NLP/ML modules, IaC support, and modularity. The results confirm the efectiveness of this approach compared to classical systems. The article may be useful for researchers and practitioners implementing intelligent cybersecurity strategies in dynamic cloud environments.</p>
      </abstract>
      <kwd-group>
        <kwd>eol&gt;Machine Learning (ML)</kwd>
        <kwd>Natural Language Processing (NLP)</kwd>
        <kwd>cloud security</kwd>
        <kwd>zero trust</kwd>
        <kwd>cybersecurity</kwd>
      </kwd-group>
    </article-meta>
  </front>
  <body>
    <sec id="sec-1">
      <title>1. Introduction</title>
      <p>
        Modern cloud computing opens new horizons for business scalability, infrastructure cost reduction, and
accelerated deployment of digital services. At the same time, the growing volume of data, increased
number of access points, decentralization of resources, and the prevalence of multi-cloud architectures
complicate the task of ensuring cybersecurity. Traditional protection approaches, based on static
rules and signatures, do not provide the required level of adaptability, scalability, or responsiveness in
dynamic cloud environments [
        <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1 ref2">1, 2</xref>
        ].
      </p>
      <p>Particularly relevant challenges include slow incident response, ineficient processing of large volumes
of logs and unstructured data, a high rate of false positives, and the inability to detect hidden threats.
Identifying unauthorized services, secret leaks, access policy violations, and suspicious activity requires
deeper contextual analysis than is possible with conventional tools such as WAFs or IAM systems.</p>
      <p>In response to these challenges, Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML)
technologies are emerging at the forefront, demonstrating strong potential for building intelligent,
adaptive solutions. NLP enables the automated processing of log files, configuration documents, user
queries, incident reports, and other unstructured information to detect signals of threats or anomalies.
ML enables user and system behavior modeling, threat classification, attack prediction, and dynamic
access control within the Zero Trust architecture.</p>
      <p>The objective of this study is to identify efective approaches for automating cloud security using
NLP and ML, analyze existing solutions, and develop an original architecture of an intelligent protection
system tailored to the needs of modern multi-cloud infrastructure, where we achieved incident response
time (&lt;10 minutes), fast threat detection accuracy (up to 90%), depth of contextual analysis, and
auditability in comparison with modern NLP/ML solutions.</p>
      <p>The object of this research is the set of processes ensuring the security of cloud environments,
including log analysis, access management, and threat detection. The subject of the research comprises
methods and models for applying NLP and ML in cloud security systems, as well as mechanisms for
their integration with monitoring, authorization, and incident response tools.</p>
      <p>The main tasks of the study are to: analyze current problems and limitations of classical cloud security
approaches; review scientific and applied solutions using NLP and ML in cybersecurity; identify the
strengths and weaknesses of existing implementations; propose an original concept of an intelligent
automated protection system for cloud infrastructure; and compare the efectiveness of standard
approaches and the proposed architecture based on key metrics.</p>
    </sec>
    <sec id="sec-2">
      <title>2. Challenges of traditional approaches to cloud infrastructure security</title>
      <p>The traditional cybersecurity architecture, based on signature analysis, trafic filtering, and controlled
access, has historically proven efective in environments with predictable topologies and centralized
computing resources. Tools in this category include Security Information and Event Management
(SIEM) systems, firewalls (WAF, NGFW), Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions, and classic
mechanisms like Access Control Lists (ACLs). However, in cloud infrastructure – characterized by
dynamic scalability, automated resource deployment, and flexible, temporary access policies – these
tools often prove inefective or overly restrictive.</p>
      <p>
        Firstly, most traditional tools rely on predefined rules or signatures. Detecting new, atypical threats
that lack clearly defined characteristics (so-called zero-day attacks) is unlikely. While standard WAF
solutions may efectively block SQL injections or XSS attacks, detecting obfuscated or social engineering
intrusions is only partially possible – or not at all [
        <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>
        ]. The same applies to SIEM systems: although they
collect large volumes of data, the analytics they provide are often superficial and lack the necessary
context for accurate incident response.
      </p>
      <p>Secondly, the fragmented control across diferent layers of the cloud infrastructure leads to the
emergence of “blind spots.” When events occur at the intersection of multiple services – for example,
between an API gateway, a serverless component, and a cloud database – traditional SIEM/WAF tools
lack full visibility and are unable to correlate events correctly. As a result, multi-stage, automated
attacks often go unnoticed.</p>
      <p>The third limitation is the high frequency of false positives, which is common in static security
policies. For instance, upon detecting “unusual” user activity, the system might block operations even
when the request is legitimate (such as during scheduled updates or backups). This hampers productivity
for DevOps/SecOps teams, frustrates users, and often forces administrators to relax security rules –
consequently increasing the risk of compromise.</p>
      <p>
        The fourth major drawback is delayed response time. In many systems, incident alerts arrive only
after an attack has already occurred. As noted in [
        <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref4">4</xref>
        ], the average response time for complex incidents in
traditional security systems exceeds 6–12 hours – a critical delay in always-available cloud environments,
especially for multi-stage attacks involving initial infiltration, lateral movement, and data exfiltration.
      </p>
      <p>Another important shortcoming is the lack of semantic analysis, which makes traditional systems
incapable of interpreting events at the content level. For example, a SIEM system may log a request
to a specific API but cannot determine whether critical data was requested or it was just a routine
availability check. This further complicates response eforts, as the severity of the event cannot be
assessed without human intervention.</p>
      <p>In conclusion, while traditional security tools remain important as a foundational defense layer, they
cannot independently provide the flexibility, speed, or contextual awareness required in modern cloud
infrastructure. This creates a strong need to complement them with intelligent systems based on NLP
and ML – enabling higher levels of automation, detection of complex threats, and adaptation in real
time.</p>
    </sec>
    <sec id="sec-3">
      <title>3. Theoretical foundations of NLP and ML applications in cloud system security</title>
      <p>The integration of NLP and ML technologies into cloud infrastructure cybersecurity opens new
opportunities for delivering adaptive and intelligent protection of information resources. Unlike traditional
tools based on fixed rules, NLP and ML enable the analysis of large volumes of heterogeneous data, the
identification of patterns and anomalies, and the prediction of threats in dynamic environments.</p>
      <p>The authors present the key theoretical principles underlying the use of NLP and ML in the context
of cloud system protection. This includes functional mechanisms of NLP in security applications,
ML-based incident detection approaches, and the types of threats these solutions can address.</p>
      <sec id="sec-3-1">
        <title>3.1. Principles of NLP in cybersecurity</title>
        <p>
          NLP in cybersecurity encompasses a range of algorithmic methods designed to analyze unstructured
textual data for the detection of threats, anomalies, and security policy violations. The core of these
approaches lies in the ability of NLP technologies to perform syntactic and semantic analysis of logs,
alerts, security reports, service messages, access policies, and user-generated content [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5 ref6">5, 6</xref>
          ] (Figure 1).
        </p>
        <p>Key tasks of NLP in the security domain include:
• Automatic classification of textual messages based on risk level;
• Detection of behavioral patterns and indicators of compromise in text logs;
• Semantic analysis of access requests to cloud resources;
• Identification of potentially dangerous instructions in documents or configurations.</p>
        <p>A key advantage of NLP is the ability to process a large number of events in real time while accounting
for context, which significantly improves threat detection accuracy and reduces false positives. In
particular, models such as BERT or GPT can not only match keywords but also interpret their context
within an information stream.</p>
        <p>
          In many modern implementations, NLP is integrated into incident analytics automation (e.g., SOAR
platforms) or log processing in SIEM systems, significantly enhancing their functionality [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref7">7</xref>
          ]. NLP
is also used to build chatbots and security virtual assistants capable of interpreting natural language
queries from analysts and generating responses, thereby reducing the cognitive load on response teams
[
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref8">8</xref>
          ].
        </p>
        <p>
          Beyond traditional applications like log analysis, monitoring, and semantic query interpretation, NLP
also ofers promising capabilities in detecting signs of Shadow IT. This includes analyzing user behavior,
incoming cloud service requests, and internal communications that may mention unauthorized or
unregistered applications [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref9">9</xref>
          ] (Figure 2).
        </p>
        <p>Use of NLP in such scenarios enables:
• Identifying indications of unregistered services or external cloud environments;
• Detecting access policy violations disguised as normal activity;
• Automatically generating informative reports for security teams using natural language
explanations;
• Improving the efectiveness of automated questionnaires and feedback forms in access and policy
audits.</p>
        <p>Another important area where NLP is actively integrated into cloud solutions is secret management.
In combination with systems like HashiCorp Vault, NLP can be used to:
• Analyze textual configurations, CI/CD scripts, and IaC files (e.g., Terraform, Ansible) to detect
exposed secrets, API keys, or hardcoded credentials [10];
• Contextually classify the content of environment variables, which are often sources of confidential
data leaks;
• Automate the generation of access policies based on descriptive queries from security
administrators;
• Integrate with chatbots that can explain secret management policies, assist in key rotation, and
monitor cloud environment changes.</p>
        <p>In current implementations, NLP is closely tied to the «Security as Code» approach [11], where all
aspects of security (including access control, configuration validation, and activity monitoring) are
expressed in code.</p>
        <p>According to the authors, NLP is no longer merely a tool for reactive analysis, but an active component
of the protection ecosystem–interacting with continuous deployment platforms, secret management
policies, and Shadow IT restriction mechanisms. This paves the way for creating self-learning security
systems that not only respond to events but also anticipate them, forming a truly intelligent approach
to securing cloud systems.</p>
      </sec>
      <sec id="sec-3-2">
        <title>3.2. Capabilities of ML in threat detection and prevention</title>
        <p>Machine learning is a key component of modern threat detection systems in cloud infrastructure, as
it enables eficient analysis of large data volumes, identification of hidden patterns, and prediction of
potential attacks based on behavioral anomalies. ML algorithms provide a proactive security approach:
instead of reacting to already-detected threats, the system learns to recognize threats before they occur.</p>
        <p>The most common approaches in cloud security include classification, clustering, and reinforcement
learning. Specifically:
• Classification models (e.g., Random Forest, XGBoost, SVM) are efectively used to determine the
type of attack based on features extracted from network trafic or log data;
• Clustering algorithms, such as DBSCAN or k-means, help detect anomalous patterns in large
volumes of user activity or telemetry data;
• Hybrid models can combine known attack signatures with the ability to learn from new incoming
data, which is critical for defending against zero-day threats.</p>
        <p>Flexibility, adaptability, and self-learning capabilities are key components of ML models form the
foundation for building efective systems for data loss prevention (DLP), phishing protection, botnet
activity detection, and risk assessment in multi-component cloud environments.</p>
      </sec>
      <sec id="sec-3-3">
        <title>3.3. Types of attacks covered by NLP/ML solutions</title>
        <p>he application of NLP and ML technologies in cloud infrastructure cybersecurity allows for efective
detection and prevention of a wide range of attacks – including those that are subtle or undetectable by
traditional signature-based systems.</p>
        <p>
          The primary types of attacks that NLP/ML can help detect include [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref8">8</xref>
          ]:
• Phishing attacks, identified by analyzing email and messaging content using NLP algorithms that
detect social engineering patterns;
• Insider threats, where ML models detect deviations in user behavior that do not match typical
profiles, enabling timely identification of internal risks;
• Zero-day attacks and unknown exploits, which ML systems can identify based on behavioral
characteristics, even in the absence of known signatures;
• Unauthorized resource access attacks (e.g., privilege escalation, lateral or vertical
movement)–where a combination of UEBA and NLP log analysis helps detect abnormal privilege
usage patterns;
• DDoS and botnet attacks, where ML systems use trafic pattern clustering to detect anomalies
and suspicious coordination of requests;
• Data exfiltration attempts, where NLP models identify attempts to transfer confidential
information through unauthorized channels, especially via text (e.g., emails or chats).
        </p>
        <p>Additionally, there is active development of automated security rule generation using LLM models,
which are capable not only of analyzing events but also of generating appropriate access policies, SOAR
playbooks, and actionable recommendations to counter specific threats [12, 13].</p>
        <p>Because of their flexibility and contextual sensitivity, NLP and ML can cover both traditional and
evolving threats–particularly in dynamic multi-cloud environments where conventional detection
methods fall short in efectiveness.</p>
      </sec>
    </sec>
    <sec id="sec-4">
      <title>4. Approaches to integrating NLP/ML in cloud infrastructure security</title>
      <p>With the rise of multi-cloud and hybrid infrastructures, cybersecurity faces new challenges: complex
cross-platform interactions, scalable threats, and the need to adapt protection policies to dynamic
environments in real time. In response, both the research community and industry are developing
solutions based on ML and NLP technologies.</p>
      <p>The application of NLP enables the automation of log analysis, security policy evaluation, and event
interpretation. ML, in turn, ofers deep user behavior analytics, adaptive attack response, incident
classification, and risk assessment. Combining these technologies makes it possible to build intelligent
systems capable of self-learning, threat prediction, and autonomous response. Automated threat
detection is one of the most critical tasks in cloud security. Multi-cloud environments demand
highspeed processing of large event volumes, making manual incident analysis infeasible. The use of
NLP/ML enables early threat detection mechanisms, supporting a proactive approach to cybersecurity
[14, 15].</p>
      <p>Author [16] proposes an ontology-based knowledge representation model in the cybersecurity
domain, implemented using NLP and supervised learning methods. A domain-specific ontology was
developed, covering 18 core classes (e.g., Attacker, Exploit, Vulnerability, Software, Risk, etc.) and 33
types of relationships among them (exploits, performs, generates, involves, etc.) (Figure 3).</p>
      <p>The architecture illustrates cause-efect relationships between attackers, vulnerabilities, events, and
outcomes. This ontology became the basis for training named entity recognition model and relationship
extraction, enabling automated semantic analysis of cybersecurity documents.</p>
      <p>Recent research reinforces the significance of integrating NLP/ML tools into cloud infrastructure.
Vakhula et al. [17] emphasized the value of the "security-as-code" approach for improving automation
and dynamic policy updates in multi-cloud environments. Petrivskyi et al. [18] explored energy-eficient
hybrid sensor network designs, which enhance security monitoring capabilities within cloud
infrastructures. Milov et al. [19] introduced an agent-based modeling methodology to simulate antagonistic
behavior in cyber systems, ofering valuable insights for ML-based threat response models. In parallel,
Shevchuk et al. [20] developed secure AAA service architectures, while Deineka et al. [21] proposed
SOC 2-compliant classification mechanisms. Additionally, Martseniuk et al. [ 22] analyzed the role of
centralized configuration repositories in ensuring secure and flexible infrastructure management for
cloud-based services.</p>
      <sec id="sec-4-1">
        <title>4.1. Automated threat detection</title>
        <p>In publication [23], the implementation of ML algorithms for analyzing behavioral patterns in ERP
systems operating in the cloud is discussed. Classification algorithms based on historical data helped
detect unusual user activity and trigger automated response procedures. At the same time, a
contextaware model reduced the number of false positives by accounting for business operations.</p>
        <p>A practical case [24] (Figure 4) demonstrates that ML-based threat detection combined with NLP
enables adaptive response to continuously evolving threats. In particular – phishing attacks, data
leaks, and botnet activity – ML-powered systems classify threats into multiple risk levels, facilitating
automatic blocking or quarantining decisions.</p>
        <p>Some approaches [25] focus on autonomous learning – where the model adapts to new threat types
without full retraining – significantly reducing the detection delay.</p>
        <p>It can be concluded that automated threat detection using NLP and ML significantly improves speed,
accuracy, and overall security efectiveness in dynamic cloud environments. Key advantages include
scalability, adaptability, fewer false positives, and reduced response time.</p>
      </sec>
      <sec id="sec-4-2">
        <title>4.2. Data protection and DLP</title>
        <p>Data protection in cloud environments, especially within multi-cloud architectures, requires more than
just access control. It also demands mechanisms for detecting and preventing data leaks (Data Loss
Prevention, DLP) [26]. According to the authors, traditional DLP systems based on signatures and
manual rule configurations prove ineficient in conditions involving data mobility, replication, and
encryption in the cloud. The integration of ML and NLP enables intelligent DLP solutions that are both
adaptive and self-learning.</p>
        <p>The architectural solution (Figure 5) explores AI-driven DLP strategies for multi-cloud environments
in detail. Real-time automated scanning, data classification, contextual risk evaluation, and user activity
monitoring are implemented. NLP algorithms identify sensitive data even in unstructured sources, such
as messages, documents, or logs.</p>
        <p>One of the key elements of such systems is phased processing: data is first identified and classified by
sensitivity level, then ML models predict the likelihood of data leakage based on behavioral indicators.
The NLP module detects PII (Personally Identifiable Information) in documents, while the ML module
trains on prior incidents to flag risky behaviors. As a result, data leakage was reduced by over 40%
compared to traditional DLP systems in a comparable environment.</p>
        <p>
          Compliance with regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO/IEC 27001 is also critical. The solution
described in [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref10">28</xref>
          ] integrates ML-based continuous monitoring mechanisms to dynamically update
policies in accordance with regulatory changes.
        </p>
        <p>In summary, the integration of NLP and ML into DLP modules ensures adaptive, context-aware
data protection with minimal human intervention – especially important in highly dynamic cloud
infrastructures.</p>
      </sec>
      <sec id="sec-4-3">
        <title>4.3. Intelligent access control systems</title>
        <p>Access control is a fundamental component of information security architecture, particularly in cloud
environments where resources are dynamically scaled and users can access systems from anywhere
in the world. Traditional access control models, such as RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) or ACLs
(Access Control Lists), cannot promptly account for context, behavioral patterns, or access risk levels. As
a result, intelligent access control systems integrating ML and NLP technologies are gaining popularity.
NLP algorithms help detect hidden intentions in access requests and block unauthorized access to
critical data (Figure 6).</p>
        <p>
          Article [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref12">30</xref>
          ] emphasizes the importance of dynamic, context-aware access control that adapts to
current user conditions – their role, device, geolocation, data type, and request characteristics. These
systems use ML models to construct behavioral profiles that are continuously updated based on user
activity.
        </p>
        <p>Because of the use of ML and NLP, intelligent access systems ofer not only flexibility and contextual
awareness, but also proactivity in preventing unauthorized access – an essential requirement for
protecting distributed cloud environments.</p>
      </sec>
      <sec id="sec-4-4">
        <title>4.4. Application examples in leading companies and systems</title>
        <p>The implementation of ML and NLP technologies in cloud infrastructure cybersecurity is no longer
exceptional–it has become a strategic direction in IT security development among the world’s leading
companies. Real-world deployments of such approaches have shown significant success in threat
detection, data protection, and automation of routine processes (Figure 7).</p>
        <p>
          Amazon Web Services (AWS) has introduced several services such as Amazon Macie, which uses
ML to detect PII in Amazon S3 storage, and Amazon GuardDuty, which identifies threats by analyzing
event logs, network trafic, and user behavior [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref14">32</xref>
          ].
        </p>
        <p>In Google Cloud, the Chronicle platform enables behavior-based anomaly detection. It integrates
large-scale data processing with ML models that analyze billions of events daily to identify patterns
associated with targeted attacks.</p>
        <p>In conclusion, leading cloud platforms and large enterprises demonstrate a wide range of use cases
for intelligent technologies that combine eficiency, scalability, and adaptability in response to modern
cybersecurity challenges.</p>
      </sec>
    </sec>
    <sec id="sec-5">
      <title>5. Analysis of problems and limitations of integrating NLP and ML in cloud infrastructure security</title>
      <p>Despite the rapid advancement of intelligent solutions in the field of cloud security, the application of
NLP and ML technologies is accompanied by a number of challenges. While many existing approaches
show high performance in laboratory conditions or on synthetic datasets, in real-world environments
they face issues related to scalability, adaptation to emerging threats, and compliance with ethical and
legal standards. Another critical factor is the need to maintain model accuracy when training data is
limited or in the case of zero-day attacks.</p>
      <sec id="sec-5-1">
        <title>5.1. Model accuracy challenges</title>
        <p>One of the main challenges in using ML and NLP for cloud infrastructure protection is ensuring
consistently high model accuracy during real-world deployment. Despite impressive results on controlled
datasets, models often experience performance degradation when faced with new or unpredictable
data – particularly in the context of evolving cloud topologies, emerging attack types, or changing user
behavior [24, 25].</p>
        <p>
          Research [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5">5</xref>
          ] emphasizes that even well-trained models lose efectiveness when encountering
nonstandard log formats or textual fragments lacking keywords. Moreover, authors in [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref13">31</xref>
          ] highlight the
overfitting problem, where models perform well on known attack patterns but have low accuracy in
detecting novel threats. This creates a misleading sense of efectiveness in testing environments and
fails to guarantee real-world utility in production systems.
        </p>
        <p>
          Another key challenge is class imbalance: security incident data is significantly underrepresented
compared to normal activity. As a result, models may undervalue rare but critical incidents. Article [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref14">32</xref>
          ]
proposes using techniques such as oversampling, weighted training, and SMOTE to address this issue,
but the authors note that these methods have limited efectiveness without quality manual tuning.
        </p>
        <p>Despite substantial progress, model accuracy remains a limiting factor in deploying NLP/ML for
cloud security. Moving forward, it is necessary to combine ML techniques with robust validation,
adaptive learning, and interpretability mechanisms to ensure reliable and stable performance in dynamic
environments.</p>
      </sec>
      <sec id="sec-5-2">
        <title>5.2. Ethical and legal considerations</title>
        <p>The integration of ML and NLP into cloud infrastructure cybersecurity systems introduces not only
technical but also significant ethical and legal challenges. On the one hand, these technologies ofer
powerful tools for threat detection and protection; on the other hand, they pose risks of misuse,
algorithmic bias, and violations of human rights.</p>
        <p>From a legal perspective, particular attention must be paid to compliance with regulations such as
GDPR, CCPA, and ISO/IEC 27001. Using NLP to analyze textual messages, correspondence, or logs
requires strict control over privacy and the handling of personal data. According to GDPR, even partial
analysis of personal information without user consent constitutes a violation – therefore, systems must
implement built-in mechanisms to restrict access to PII (Personally Identifiable Information) [26].</p>
        <p>Another critical concern is the deployment of automated decisions based on ML/NLP that afect
user rights or freedoms – such as account blocking, resource isolation, or initiating defensive actions
without human oversight. In such cases, regulatory standards require appeal mechanisms, decision
explainability, and human intervention in the final decision-making process. It is evident that the
development and implementation of intelligent cybersecurity systems must be guided not only by
technical validity but also by ethical principles, transparency, data privacy, and legal compliance.</p>
      </sec>
      <sec id="sec-5-3">
        <title>5.3. Alignment with zero trust / IAM / CIEM</title>
        <p>The integration of intelligent systems based on NLP and ML into cloud security cannot be fully realized
without alignment with modern concepts of trust and access management–specifically, Zero Trust
Architecture (ZTA), Identity and Access Management (IAM), and the more dynamic Cloud Infrastructure
Entitlement Management (CIEM).</p>
        <p>
          According to [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref15">33</xref>
          ], traditional IAM systems often struggle with the continuous changes in cloud
environments–such as the creation of new services, temporary users, and external integrations. In such
cases, CIEM provides a solution by using ML to continuously audit access rights, identify excessive
privileges, and enforce least privilege policies based on behavioral data.
        </p>
        <p>
          Alignment with Zero Trust becomes especially critical when deploying ML/NLP-based automated
detection and response systems at scale. Without connection to identity verification and access control
mechanisms, such solutions may become inefective – or even dangerous –e.g., acting on unauthenticated
or spoofed user requests [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref16">34</xref>
          ].
        </p>
        <p>
          Study [
          <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref17">35</xref>
          ] outlines a mechanism for integrating risk models with IAM systems. If a request’s risk
level – determined by ML – is high, the system initiates additional checks (e.g., MFA, or administrative
approval). Clearly, ML does not operate in isolation, but in coordination with security policies. ML
models analyze access history, detect anomalies, and recommend configuration changes.
        </p>
        <p>Thus, to achieve high efectiveness and consistency in ML/NLP-based cybersecurity systems, it is
essential to integrate them within the frameworks of Zero Trust, IAM, and CIEM – both in terms of
policy enforcement and data exchange interfaces for decision-making.</p>
      </sec>
    </sec>
    <sec id="sec-6">
      <title>6. Automation of threat response in the cloud with NLP and ML</title>
      <p>Based on the analysis of the limitations of classical security systems, as well as the strengths and
weaknesses of modern NLP/ML-based solutions discussed in the previous sections, we developed a
concept for our own architecture of an intelligent cybersecurity system for cloud infrastructure. Unlike
static solutions, the proposed model combines semantic analysis powered by NLP with behavioral
modeling based on ML. This approach enables not only anomaly detection but also flexible automated
response, scalable integration with DevOps processes, and alignment with the principles of Zero Trust
and Security as Code.</p>
      <p>It supports deep contextual analysis, scalability in multi-cloud environments, compatibility with IaC
tools, and explainable decision-making. The proposed system architecture (Figure 8) implements a
chain: event → analysis → decision → response. It is built around the integration of NLP modules
(AWS Comprehend + Lambda with RoBERTa) and ML components (AWS SageMaker, Fraud Detector,
Lambda) into a unified processing pipeline, which interacts with cloud infrastructure elements via
corresponding response services (WAF, Security Groups, NACL, Route53, etc.).</p>
      <p>Key components of the solution:
• Event Sources: Include access log files (CloudTrail, VPC Flow Logs, WAF Logs), internal chat
messages, technical tickets, CI/CD configurations, and other structured or unstructured data
sources. These serve as input points for further analysis;
• NLP Analytics: Processes textual events using AWS Comprehend and a custom Lambda function
powered by a pre-trained transformer model (RoBERTa). It performs request classification,
detection of vulnerable patterns, and threat type categorization. The module generates a semantic
threat vector representation, passed to the ML Core;
• ML Core: Analyzes the context of the event and behavioral data using a risk model. It leverages
AWS SageMaker (for classification and prediction), Fraud Detector (to assess abuse probability),
and custom anomaly detection modules implemented in Lambda. The output includes a risk
score, threat classification, and recommended action;
• Security Reaction Layer: Automatically updates access policies, modifies WAF/Security</p>
      <p>Group/Route53 rules, and creates service events in EventBridge with updated security parameters).</p>
    </sec>
    <sec id="sec-7">
      <title>7. Results analysis</title>
      <p>A comparative evaluation was conducted to assess the efectiveness of the proposed intelligent cloud
protection architecture against traditional solutions and existing NLP/ML approaches. The aim was to
highlight the advantages provided by the integration of NLP and ML in threat detection, response, and
access management.</p>
      <p>The comparison was performed across several key criteria, including performance, accuracy, flexibility,
explainability, and alignment with modern DevSecOps practices. Selected comparison criteria include:
latency, threat detection accuracy, explainability, contextual awareness, and audit trail availability.</p>
      <p>
        The results of the comparative analysis (Figure 9 and Figure 10) highlight significant advantages of
the proposed architecture over classical security tools and demonstrate enhanced capabilities compared
to other modern NLP/ML solutions [
        <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref11 ref16">16, 18, 29, 34</xref>
        ].
      </p>
      <p>The proposed solution shows clear superiority in critical aspects of cloud security: performance,
contextual understanding, scalability, DevOps compatibility, and decision explainability. Its
implementation addresses the key limitations of traditional systems, which often rely on static rules, fragmented
visibility, and manual operations.</p>
      <p>Despite the achievements in integrating NLP/ML into cloud security, several areas remain for future
research and enhancement. The next step in evolving this system is its transformation into a
selflearning, transparent, and compliant platform capable of operating in real time across multi-cloud
environments. This will empower organizations to efectively implement Zero Trust, ensure compliance
and audit readiness, and reduce human error in security operations.</p>
    </sec>
    <sec id="sec-8">
      <title>8. Conclusions</title>
      <p>This paper presents a comprehensive study on the integration of Natural Language Processing (NLP)
and Machine Learning (ML) technologies into the cybersecurity systems of cloud infrastructure. Based
on the analysis of classical approaches, practical limitations, and modern implementations, we propose
an original architecture for an intelligent security system aligned with the principles of Zero Trust,</p>
      <sec id="sec-8-1">
        <title>Security as Code, and DevSecOps:</title>
        <p>1. Classical security tools, such as WAF, IAM, SIEM, and ACLs, lack the flexibility, scalability, and
contextual awareness required in dynamic multi-cloud environments. Critical challenges include
detecting Shadow IT, secret leaks, inter-service activity, and processing unstructured data.</p>
        <p>2. Modern NLP and ML-based solutions (e.g., GuardDuty, Macie, Azure Sentinel, Chronicle) show
clear progress but face limitations in explainability, often operate in isolation, lack full support for the
DevOps lifecycle, and do not cover all data types or access scenarios.</p>
        <p>3. The proposed architecture combines NLP analytics (AWS Comprehend + Lambda with RoBERTa)
and ML modules (SageMaker, Fraud Detector, custom Lambda functions) to analyze textual messages,
logs, access events, and user behavior. It includes support for XAI, CIEM, Security as Code, and
automated policy updates via Infrastructure as Code (IaC).</p>
        <p>4. Comparative evaluation demonstrated that the proposed solution outperforms traditional
approaches across key metrics, including incident response time (&lt;10 minutes), threat detection accuracy
(up to 90%), depth of contextual analysis, and auditability.</p>
        <p>The solution proposed by the authors represents a practical implementation of an intelligent,
adaptive, and explainable cybersecurity architecture, suitable for deployment in today’s cloud-native and
highly dynamic environments. Its adoption can significantly reduce risk and response time, while
delivering transparency, automation, and scalability in line with next-generation digital security
requirements. Future development directions include integrating Explainable AI with natural language
explanations, adopting compliance-as-code, enabling real-time dynamic access control, enhancing
modularity, supporting LLM agents, and achieving full integration into multi-cloud environments.</p>
      </sec>
    </sec>
    <sec id="sec-9">
      <title>Declaration on Generative AI</title>
      <sec id="sec-9-1">
        <title>The authors have not employed any Generative AI tools.</title>
        <p>[10] Y. Martseniuk, A. Partyka, O. Harasymchuk, S. Shevchenko, Universal centralized secret data
management for automated public cloud provisioning, in: CEUR Workshop Proceedings, volume
3826, 2024, pp. 72–81.
[11] V. Khoma, A. Abibulaiev, A. Piskozub, T. Kret, Comprehensive approach for developing an
enterprise cloud infrastructure, in: CEUR Workshop Proceedings, volume 3654, 2024, pp. 201–215.
[12] D. M. Rakgoale, H. I. Kobo, Z. Z. Mapundu, T. N. Khosa, A review of AI/ML algorithms for security
enhancement in cloud computing with emphasis on artificial neural networks, in: 4th International
Multidisciplinary Information Technology and Engineering Conference (IMITEC), Vanderbijlpark,
South Africa, 2024, pp. 329–336. doi:10.1109/IMITEC60221.2024.10851076.
[13] J. Al-Azzeh, M. A. Hadidi, R. Odarchenko, S. Gnatyuk, Z. Shevchuk, Z. Hu, Analysis of
selfsimilar trafic models in computer networks. international review on modelling and simulations,
International Journal of Computer Network and Information Security 10 (2017) 328–336. doi:10.
15866/iremos.v10i5.12009.
[14] N. D. V. Talati, Scalable AI and data processing strategies for hybrid cloud environments, World
Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews 10 (2021) 482–492. doi:10.30574/wjarr.2021.10.
3.0289.
[15] Z. Hu, Y. Khokhlachova, V. Sydorenko, I. Opirskyy, Method for optimization of information
security systems behavior under conditions of influences, International Journal of Intelligent
Systems and Applications 9 (2017) 46–58. doi:10.5815/ijisa.2017.12.05.
[16] T.-M. Georgescu, Natural language processing model for automatic analysis of
cybersecurityrelated documents, Symmetry 12 (2020) 354. doi:10.3390/sym12030354.
[17] O. Vakhula, I. Opirskyy, O. Mykhaylova, Research on security challenges in cloud environments
and solutions based on the "security-as-code" approach, in: CEUR Workshop Proceedings, volume
3550, 2023, pp. 55–69.
[18] V. Petrivskyi, O. Melnyk, S. Petrenko, O. Kot, Development of a modification of the method for
constructing energy-eficient sensor networks using static and dynamic sensors, Eastern-European
Journal of Enterprise Technologies 1 (2022) 15–23. doi:10.15587/1729-4061.2022.252988.
[19] O. Milov, S. Yevseiev, D. Bodnar, I. Opirskyy, Development of methodology for modeling the
interaction of antagonistic agents in cybersecurity systems, Eastern-European Journal of Enterprise
Technologies 2 (2019) 56–66. doi:10.15587/1729-4061.2019.164730.
[20] D. Shevchuk, O. Harasymchuk, A. Partyka, N. Korshun, Designing secured services for
authentication, authorization, and accounting of users, in: CEUR Workshop Proceedings, volume 3550,
2023, pp. 217–225.
[21] O. Deineka, O. Harasymchuk, A. Partyka, A. Obshta, N. Korshun, Designing data classification
and secure store policy according to SOC 2 type II, in: CEUR Workshop Proceedings, volume 3654,
2024, pp. 398–409.
[22] Y. Martseniuk, A. Partyka, O. Harasymchuk, V. Cherevyk, N. Dovzhenko, Research of the
centralized configuration repository eficiency for secure cloud service infrastructure management, in:
CEUR Workshop Proceedings, volume 3991, 2025, pp. 260–274.
[23] R. K. Jha, Strengthening smart grid cybersecurity: An in-depth investigation into the fusion of
machine learning and natural language processing, Journal of Trends in Computer Science and
Smart Technology 5 (2023) 284–301. doi:10.36548/jtcsst.2023.3.005.
[24] J. Wang, AI/ML-powered cybersecurity and cloud computing strategies for optimized business
intelligence in ERP cloud, ResearchGate, 2023. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.27926.66882.
[25] T. K. Vashishth, V. Sharma, B. Kumar, S. Chaudhary, R. Panwar, Enhancing cloud security:
The role of artificial intelligence and machine learning, in: IGI Global, 2024. doi: 10.4018/
979-8-3693-1431-9.ch004.
[26] R. Muppalaneni, A. C. Inaganti, N. Ravichandran, Ai-enhanced data loss prevention (dlp) strategies
for multi-cloud environments, Journal of Computing Innovations and Applications 2 (2024) 1–13.</p>
        <p>URL: https://ciajournal.com/index.php/jcia/article/view/9, accessed: 10 May 2025.
[27] P. Van Hau, Enhancing web application security: A deep learning and NLP-based approach for
accurate attack detection, Journal of Science and Technology on Information Security (2023).</p>
      </sec>
    </sec>
  </body>
  <back>
    <ref-list>
      <ref id="ref1">
        <mixed-citation>
          [1]
          <string-name>
            <given-names>K. C.</given-names>
            <surname>Sunkara</surname>
          </string-name>
          , K. Narukulla,
          <source>AI Enhanced Ontology Driven NLP for Intelligent Cloud Resource Query Processing Using Knowledge Graphs</source>
          ,
          <year>2023</year>
          . doi:
          <volume>10</volume>
          .48550/arXiv.2502.18484, independent Research Report, IEEE Senior Members, Raleigh/San Jose, USA.
        </mixed-citation>
      </ref>
      <ref id="ref2">
        <mixed-citation>
          [2]
          <string-name>
            <surname>M. M. Belal</surname>
            ,
            <given-names>D. M.</given-names>
          </string-name>
          <string-name>
            <surname>Sundaram</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <article-title>Comprehensive review on intelligent security defences in cloud: Taxonomy, security issues, ML/DL techniques, challenges and future trends</article-title>
          ,
          <source>Journal of King</source>
          Saud University - Computer and Information Sciences (
          <year>2022</year>
          ). doi:
          <volume>10</volume>
          .1016/j.jksuci.
          <year>2022</year>
          .
          <volume>08</volume>
          .035.
        </mixed-citation>
      </ref>
      <ref id="ref3">
        <mixed-citation>
          [3]
          <string-name>
            <given-names>J.</given-names>
            <surname>Jaya</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <article-title>Application of deep learning in cloud security</article-title>
          , in: Deep Learning Approaches to Cloud Security, Wiley,
          <year>2022</year>
          . doi:
          <volume>10</volume>
          .1002/9781119760542.ch12.
        </mixed-citation>
      </ref>
      <ref id="ref4">
        <mixed-citation>
          [4]
          <string-name>
            <given-names>P.</given-names>
            <surname>Nina</surname>
          </string-name>
          , K. Ethan,
          <article-title>AI-driven threat detection: Enhancing cloud security with cutting-edge technologies</article-title>
          ,
          <source>International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development</source>
          <volume>4</volume>
          (
          <year>2019</year>
          )
          <fpage>1362</fpage>
          -
          <lpage>1374</lpage>
          . URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd29520.pdf.
        </mixed-citation>
      </ref>
      <ref id="ref5">
        <mixed-citation>
          [5]
          <string-name>
            <given-names>J. S.</given-names>
            <surname>Nimbhorkar</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <source>AI Enabled Cloud RAN Test Automation: Automatic Test Case Prediction Using Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning Techniques, M.sc. thesis</source>
          , KTH Royal Institute of Technology,
          <year>2023</year>
          . URL: urn:nbn:se:kth:
          <fpage>diva</fpage>
          -340090,
          <string-name>
            <surname>ericsson</surname>
            <given-names>AB</given-names>
          </string-name>
          , Stockholm.
        </mixed-citation>
      </ref>
      <ref id="ref6">
        <mixed-citation>
          [6]
          <string-name>
            <given-names>Z.</given-names>
            <surname>Kilhofer</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <string-name>
            <given-names>M.</given-names>
            <surname>Bashir</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <article-title>Cloud privacy beyond legal compliance: An NLP analysis of certifiable privacy and security standards</article-title>
          , in: IEEE Cloud Summit, Washington, DC, USA,
          <year>2024</year>
          , pp.
          <fpage>79</fpage>
          -
          <lpage>86</lpage>
          . doi:
          <volume>10</volume>
          .1109/Cloud-Summit61220.
          <year>2024</year>
          .
          <volume>00020</volume>
          .
        </mixed-citation>
      </ref>
      <ref id="ref7">
        <mixed-citation>
          [7]
          <string-name>
            <given-names>K. C.</given-names>
            <surname>Sunkara</surname>
          </string-name>
          , K. Narukulla,
          <article-title>AI enhanced ontology driven NLP for intelligent cloud resource query processing using knowledge graphs, 2025</article-title>
          . doi:
          <volume>10</volume>
          .48550/arXiv.2502.18484.
        </mixed-citation>
      </ref>
      <ref id="ref8">
        <mixed-citation>
          [8]
          <string-name>
            <given-names>S. R.</given-names>
            <surname>Mamidi</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <article-title>The role of AI and machine learning in enhancing cloud security</article-title>
          ,
          <source>Journal of Artificial Intelligence General Science (JAIGS)</source>
          (
          <year>2024</year>
          ). doi:
          <volume>10</volume>
          .60087/jaigs.v3i1.
          <fpage>161</fpage>
          .
        </mixed-citation>
      </ref>
      <ref id="ref9">
        <mixed-citation>
          [9]
          <string-name>
            <given-names>Y.</given-names>
            <surname>Martseniuk</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <string-name>
            <given-names>A.</given-names>
            <surname>Partyka</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <string-name>
            <given-names>O.</given-names>
            <surname>Harasymchuk</surname>
          </string-name>
          , E. Nyemkova,
          <string-name>
            <given-names>M.</given-names>
            <surname>Karpinski</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <article-title>Shadow IT risk analysis in public cloud infrastructure</article-title>
          ,
          <source>in: CEUR Workshop Proceedings</source>
          , volume
          <volume>3800</volume>
          ,
          <year>2024</year>
          , pp.
          <fpage>22</fpage>
          -
          <lpage>31</lpage>
          . doi:
          <volume>10</volume>
          .54654/isj.v3i20.
          <fpage>1008</fpage>
          .
        </mixed-citation>
      </ref>
      <ref id="ref10">
        <mixed-citation>
          [28]
          <string-name>
            <given-names>H.</given-names>
            <surname>Aldawsari</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <string-name>
            <given-names>S. A.</given-names>
            <surname>Kouchay</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <string-name>
            <surname>Integrating</surname>
            <given-names>AI</given-names>
          </string-name>
          <article-title>and machine learning algorithms in cloud security frameworks for enhanced proactive threat detection and mitigation</article-title>
          ,
          <source>Journal of Engineering Technology and Management</source>
          <volume>74</volume>
          (
          <year>2024</year>
          ). URL: https://ciajournal.com/index.php/jcia/article/view/9, accessed: 11 May
          <year>2025</year>
          .
        </mixed-citation>
      </ref>
      <ref id="ref11">
        <mixed-citation>
          [29]
          <string-name>
            <surname>A. M. Buttar</surname>
            ,
            <given-names>F.</given-names>
          </string-name>
          <string-name>
            <surname>Shahzad</surname>
          </string-name>
          , U. Jamil,
          <string-name>
            <surname>Conversational</surname>
            <given-names>AI</given-names>
          </string-name>
          :
          <article-title>Security features, applications, and future scope at cloud platform</article-title>
          ,
          <source>in: Conversational Artificial Intelligence</source>
          ,
          <year>2024</year>
          . doi:
          <volume>10</volume>
          .1002/ 9781394200801.ch3.
        </mixed-citation>
      </ref>
      <ref id="ref12">
        <mixed-citation>
          [30]
          <string-name>
            <surname>M. R. Al Saidat</surname>
            ,
            <given-names>S. Y.</given-names>
          </string-name>
          <string-name>
            <surname>Yerima</surname>
            ,
            <given-names>K.</given-names>
          </string-name>
          <string-name>
            <surname>Shaalan</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <article-title>Advancements of SMS spam detection: A comprehensive survey of nlp and ml techniques</article-title>
          ,
          <source>Procedia Computer Science</source>
          (
          <year>2024</year>
          ). doi:
          <volume>10</volume>
          .1016/j.procs.
          <year>2024</year>
          .
          <volume>10</volume>
          .198.
        </mixed-citation>
      </ref>
      <ref id="ref13">
        <mixed-citation>
          [31]
          <string-name>
            <given-names>J. N.</given-names>
            <surname>Malaiyappan</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <string-name>
            <given-names>S.</given-names>
            <surname>Prakash</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <string-name>
            <given-names>S. V.</given-names>
            <surname>Bayani</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <string-name>
            <given-names>M.</given-names>
            <surname>Devan</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <article-title>Enhancing cloud compliance: A machine learning approach</article-title>
          , AIJMR - Advanced
          <source>International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research</source>
          (
          <year>2024</year>
          ). doi:
          <volume>10</volume>
          .62127/aijmr.
          <year>2024</year>
          .
          <year>v02i02</year>
          .
          <fpage>1036</fpage>
          .
        </mixed-citation>
      </ref>
      <ref id="ref14">
        <mixed-citation>
          [32]
          <string-name>
            <surname>A. B. Haque</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <string-name>
            <surname>A. K. M. N. Islam</surname>
            ,
            <given-names>S.</given-names>
          </string-name>
          <string-name>
            <surname>Hyrynsalmi</surname>
            ,
            <given-names>B.</given-names>
          </string-name>
          <string-name>
            <surname>Naqvi</surname>
            ,
            <given-names>K.</given-names>
          </string-name>
          <string-name>
            <surname>Smolander</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <article-title>GDPR compliant blockchains - a systematic literature review</article-title>
          ,
          <source>IEEE Access 9</source>
          (
          <year>2021</year>
          )
          <fpage>50593</fpage>
          -
          <lpage>50606</lpage>
          . doi:
          <volume>10</volume>
          .1109/ACCESS.
          <year>2021</year>
          .
          <volume>3069877</volume>
          .
        </mixed-citation>
      </ref>
      <ref id="ref15">
        <mixed-citation>
          [33]
          <string-name>
            <given-names>A.</given-names>
            <surname>Chava</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <article-title>Application security and least privilege access in modern DevOps, The American Journal of Engineering and Technology (</article-title>
          <year>2024</year>
          ). doi:
          <volume>10</volume>
          .37547/tajet/Volume06Issue10-09.
        </mixed-citation>
      </ref>
      <ref id="ref16">
        <mixed-citation>
          [34]
          <string-name>
            <given-names>R.</given-names>
            <surname>Komala</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <string-name>
            <given-names>A. K.</given-names>
            <surname>BR</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <string-name>
            <surname>M. Prasad</surname>
            ,
            <given-names>A.</given-names>
          </string-name>
          <string-name>
            <surname>Shreyas</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <article-title>Smart governance among smart cities for legal consideration to international data migration in cloud using machine learning, nlp and blockchain smart contract</article-title>
          ,
          <source>Preprints</source>
          (
          <year>2024</year>
          ). doi:
          <volume>10</volume>
          .20944/preprints202408.
          <fpage>1028</fpage>
          .
          <year>v1</year>
          .
        </mixed-citation>
      </ref>
      <ref id="ref17">
        <mixed-citation>
          [35]
          <string-name>
            <given-names>A.</given-names>
            <surname>Manoharan</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <string-name>
            <given-names>M.</given-names>
            <surname>Sarker</surname>
          </string-name>
          ,
          <article-title>Revolutionizing cybersecurity: Unleashing the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning for next-generation threat detection</article-title>
          ,
          <source>International Research Journal of Modern Engineering and Technology and Science (IRJMETS)</source>
          (
          <year>2024</year>
          ). doi:
          <volume>10</volume>
          .56726/
        </mixed-citation>
      </ref>
    </ref-list>
  </back>
</article>