Just a little human intelligence feedback! Unsupervised learning assisted supervised learning data poisoning based backdoor removal

Backdoor attacks on deep learning (DL) models are recognized as one of the most alarming security threats, particularly in security-critical applications. A primary source of backdoor introduction is data outsourcing such as when data is aggregated from third parties or end Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which are susceptible to various attacks. Significant efforts have been made to counteract backdoor attacks through defensive measures. However, the majority of them are ineffective to either evolving trigger types or backdoor types. This study proposes a poisoned data detection method, termed as LABOR (unsupervised Learning Assisted supervised learning data poisoning based Backd Or Removal), by incorporating a little human intelligence feedback. LABOR is specifically devised to counter backdoor induced by dirty-label data poisoning on the most common classification tasks. The key insight is that regardless of the underlying trigger types (e.g., patch or imperceptible triggers) and intended backdoor types (e.g., universal or partial backdoor), the poisoned samples still preserve the semantic features of their original classes. By clustering these poisoned samples based on their original categories through unsupervised learning, with category identification assisted by human intelligence, LABOR can detect and remove poisoned samples by identifying discrepancies between cluster categories and classification model predictions. Extensive experiments on eight benchmark datasets, including an intrusion detection dataset relevant to IoT device protection, validate LABOR’s effectiveness in combating dirty-label poisoning-based backdoor attacks. LABOR’s robustness is further demonstrated across various trigger and backdoor types, as well as diverse data modalities, including image, audio and text.