Towards machine learning models robust to adversarial examples and backdoor attacks

In the past decade, machine learning spectacularly succeeded on many challenging benchmarks. However, are our machine learning models ready to leave this lab setting and be safely deployed in high-stakes real-world applications? In this thesis, we take steps towards making this vision a reality by d...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Makelov, Aleksandar
Other Authors: Mądry, Aleksander
Format: Thesis
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2023
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/147387
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author Makelov, Aleksandar
author2 Mądry, Aleksander
author_facet Mądry, Aleksander
Makelov, Aleksandar
author_sort Makelov, Aleksandar
collection MIT
description In the past decade, machine learning spectacularly succeeded on many challenging benchmarks. However, are our machine learning models ready to leave this lab setting and be safely deployed in high-stakes real-world applications? In this thesis, we take steps towards making this vision a reality by developing and applying new frameworks for making modern machine learning systems more robust. In particular, we make progress on two major modes of brittleness of such systems: adversarial examples and backdoor data poisoning attacks. Specifically, in the first part of the thesis, we build a methodology for defending against adversarial examples that is the first one to provide non-trivial adversarial robustness against an adaptive adversary. In the second part, we develop a framework for backdoor data poisoning attacks, and show how, under natural assumptions, our theoretical results motivate an algorithm to flag and remove potentially poisoned examples that is empirically successful. We conclude with a brief exploration of preliminary evidence that this framework can also be applied to other data modalities, such as tabular data, and other machine learning models, such as ensembles of decision trees.
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spelling mit-1721.1/1473872023-01-20T03:42:14Z Towards machine learning models robust to adversarial examples and backdoor attacks Makelov, Aleksandar Mądry, Aleksander Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science In the past decade, machine learning spectacularly succeeded on many challenging benchmarks. However, are our machine learning models ready to leave this lab setting and be safely deployed in high-stakes real-world applications? In this thesis, we take steps towards making this vision a reality by developing and applying new frameworks for making modern machine learning systems more robust. In particular, we make progress on two major modes of brittleness of such systems: adversarial examples and backdoor data poisoning attacks. Specifically, in the first part of the thesis, we build a methodology for defending against adversarial examples that is the first one to provide non-trivial adversarial robustness against an adaptive adversary. In the second part, we develop a framework for backdoor data poisoning attacks, and show how, under natural assumptions, our theoretical results motivate an algorithm to flag and remove potentially poisoned examples that is empirically successful. We conclude with a brief exploration of preliminary evidence that this framework can also be applied to other data modalities, such as tabular data, and other machine learning models, such as ensembles of decision trees. Ph.D. 2023-01-19T18:49:51Z 2023-01-19T18:49:51Z 2022-09 2022-10-19T19:09:20.307Z Thesis https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/147387 In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted Copyright MIT http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/ application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Makelov, Aleksandar
Towards machine learning models robust to adversarial examples and backdoor attacks
title Towards machine learning models robust to adversarial examples and backdoor attacks
title_full Towards machine learning models robust to adversarial examples and backdoor attacks
title_fullStr Towards machine learning models robust to adversarial examples and backdoor attacks
title_full_unstemmed Towards machine learning models robust to adversarial examples and backdoor attacks
title_short Towards machine learning models robust to adversarial examples and backdoor attacks
title_sort towards machine learning models robust to adversarial examples and backdoor attacks
url https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/147387
work_keys_str_mv AT makelovaleksandar towardsmachinelearningmodelsrobusttoadversarialexamplesandbackdoorattacks