White Box Watermarking for Convolution Layers in Fine-Tuning Model Using the Constant Weight Code.

Deep neural network (DNN) watermarking is a potential approach for protecting the intellectual property rights of DNN models. Similar to classical watermarking techniques for multimedia content, the requirements for DNN watermarking include capacity, robustness, transparency, and other factors. Studies have focused on robustness against retraining and fine-tuning. However, less important neurons in the DNN model may be pruned. Moreover, although the encoding approach renders DNN watermarking robust against pruning attacks, the watermark is assumed to be embedded only into the fully connected layer in the fine-tuning model. In this study, we extended the method such that the model can be applied to any convolution layer of the DNN model and designed a watermark detector based on a statistical analysis of the extracted weight parameters to evaluate whether the model is watermarked. Using a nonfungible token mitigates the overwriting of the watermark and enables checking when the DNN model with the watermark was created.

A Throughput Request Satisfaction Method for Concurrently Communicating Multiple Hosts in Wireless Local Area Network.

Nowadays, the IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) has been widely used for Internet access services around the world. Then, the unfairness or insufficiency in meeting the throughput request can appear among concurrently communicating hosts with the same access point (AP), which should be solved by sacrificing advantageous hosts. Previously, we studied the fairness control method by adopting packet transmission delay at the AP. However, it suffers from slow convergence and may not satisfy different throughput requests among hosts. In this paper, we propose a throughput request satisfaction method for providing fair or different throughput requests when multiple hosts are concurrently communicating with a single AP. To meet the throughput request, the method (1) measures the single and concurrent throughput for each host, (2) calculates the channel occupying time from them, (3) derives the target throughput to achieve the given throughput request, and (4) controls the traffic by applying traffic shaping at the AP. For evaluations, we implemented the proposal in the WLAN testbed system with one Raspberry Pi AP and up to five hosts, and conducted extensive experiments in five scenarios with different throughput requests. The results confirmed the effectiveness of our proposal.

Group Testing with Blocks of Positives and Inhibitors.

The main goal of group testing is to identify a small number of specific items among a large population of items. In this paper, we consider specific items as positives and inhibitors and non-specific items as negatives. In particular, we consider a novel model called group testing with blocks of positives and inhibitors. A test on a subset of items is positive if the subset contains at least one positive and does not contain any inhibitors, and it is negative otherwise. In this model, the input items are linearly ordered, and the positives and inhibitors are subsets of small blocks (at unknown locations) of consecutive items over that order. We also consider two specific instantiations of this model. The first instantiation is that model that contains a single block of consecutive items consisting of exactly known numbers of positives and inhibitors. The second instantiation is the model that contains a single block of consecutive items containing known numbers of positives and inhibitors. Our contribution is to propose efficient encoding and decoding schemes such that the numbers of tests used to identify only positives or both positives and inhibitors are less than the ones in the state-of-the-art schemes. Moreover, the decoding times mostly scale to the numbers of tests that are significantly smaller than the state-of-the-art ones, which scale to both the number of tests and the number of items.

Design and Implementation of SEMAR IoT Server Platform with Applications.

Nowadays, rapid developments of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies have increased possibilities of realizing smart cities where collaborations and integrations of various IoT application systems are essential. However, IoT application systems have often been designed and deployed independently without considering the standards of devices, logics, and data communications. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of the IoT server platform called Smart Environmental Monitoring and Analytical in Real-Time (SEMAR) for integrating IoT application systems using standards. SEMAR offers Big Data environments with built-in functions for data aggregations, synchronizations, and classifications with machine learning. Moreover, plug-in functions can be easily implemented. Data from devices for different sensors can be accepted directly and through network connections, which will be used in real-time for user interfaces, text files, and access to other systems through Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface (REST API) services. For evaluations of SEMAR, we implemented the platform and integrated five IoT application systems, namely, the air-conditioning guidance system, the fingerprint-based indoor localization system, the water quality monitoring system, the environment monitoring system, and the air quality monitoring system. When compared with existing research on IoT platforms, the proposed SEMAR IoT application server platform offers higher flexibility and interoperability with the functions for IoT device managements, data communications, decision making, synchronizations, and filters that can be easily integrated with external programs or IoT applications without changing the codes. The results confirm the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposal.

Coded DNN Watermark: Robustness against Pruning Models Using Constant Weight Code.

Deep Neural Network (DNN) watermarking techniques are increasingly being used to protect the intellectual property of DNN models. Basically, DNN watermarking is a technique to insert side information into the DNN model without significantly degrading the performance of its original task. A pruning attack is a threat to DNN watermarking, wherein the less important neurons in the model are pruned to make it faster and more compact. As a result, removing the watermark from the DNN model is possible. This study investigates a channel coding approach to protect DNN watermarking against pruning attacks. The channel model differs completely from conventional models involving digital images. Determining the suitable encoding methods for DNN watermarking remains an open problem. Herein, we presented a novel encoding approach using constant weight codes to protect the DNN watermarking against pruning attacks. The experimental results confirmed that the robustness against pruning attacks could be controlled by carefully setting two thresholds for binary symbols in the codeword.

Fingerprinting protocol for images based on additive homomorphic property.

Homomorphic property of public-key cryptosystems is applied for several cryptographic protocols, such as electronic cash, voting system, bidding protocols, etc. Several fingerprinting protocols also exploit the property to achieve an asymmetric system. However, their enciphering rate is extremely low and the implementation of watermarking technique is difficult. In this paper, we propose a new fingerprinting protocol applying additive homomorphic property of Okamoto-Uchiyama encryption scheme. Exploiting the property ingenuously, the enciphering rate of our fingerprinting scheme can be close to the corresponding cryptosystem. We study the problem of implementation of watermarking technique and propose a successful method to embed an encrypted information without knowing the plain value. The security can also be protected for both a buyer and a merchant in our scheme.