HimanshuKum4r/PhishingDetectionAndTrustEvaluation

Overview

This project is a backend system designed to detect and prevent phishing attacks originating from digital interactions such as URLs, QR codes, and NFC-based links.

The system follows a modular monolith architecture and performs real-time risk evaluation before allowing users to access external destinations.

Problem Statement

Users frequently interact with unknown links through QR codes, NFC tags, SMS, and web sources. These links can redirect users to malicious phishing pages that attempt to steal credentials or sensitive information.

Most existing systems detect threats after the user has already accessed the link. This project focuses on pre-access evaluation to prevent users from reaching harmful destinations.

Key Features Real-time phishing detection Multi-signal risk evaluation (URL structure, redirects, keywords) Behaviour-based trust scoring Secure redirect gateway for prevention Modular architecture for scalability Extendable design for AI and analytics Architecture

The system uses a modular monolith design where different components are logically separated but run within a single application.

Flow:

Client → Interaction Module → Risk Evaluation → Trust Evaluation → Decision → Redirect Gateway

Modules Interaction Module: Handles incoming scan requests and stores interaction data Risk Module: Evaluates phishing signals and calculates risk score Trust Module: Applies behavioural logic to compute trust score Explainability Module: Generates user-friendly explanations (optional) Analytics Module: Tracks usage patterns and trends Gateway Module: Enforces redirect, warning, or block decisions Core Workflow User submits a URL (via scan or API) Interaction is stored in the database Risk module evaluates phishing indicators Trust module calculates trust score System classifies the link Gateway controls user redirection Technology Stack

Backend:

Java 17 Spring Boot Spring Data JPA

Database:

PostgreSQL

Planned Enhancements:

Redis (caching) AI-based explanation service External threat intelligence integration