Secure and Efficient Private Inference of Deep Neural Network Models using Layer Partitioning and Trusted Execution Environments

Core Concepts

A framework for secure and efficient private inference of deep neural network models by partitioning the model layers between a trusted execution environment (TEE) and a GPU accelerator, balancing privacy preservation and computational efficiency.

Abstract

The paper presents a framework for performing private inference of deep neural network models in an untrusted cloud environment. The key aspects are:

1. Model Partitioning:

   • The model is divided into two partitions - a critical partition executed within a trusted execution environment (TEE) like Intel SGX, and a non-critical partition offloaded to a GPU for faster execution.
   • The partitioning aims to strike a balance between privacy preservation and computational efficiency.

2. Runtime Performance Evaluation:

   • The authors analyze the inference runtime performance of three popular CNN models (VGG-16, ResNet-50, EfficientNetB0) when partitioned at different layers.
   • The runtime increases as more layers are executed within the TEE, due to the overhead of secure execution.

3. Privacy Evaluation:

   • The authors evaluate the privacy of the offloaded intermediate feature maps by assessing the degree of input image reconstruction possible using a trained conditional Generative Adversarial Network (c-GAN) adversary model.
   • The optimal partitioning point is determined as the layer where the reconstructed image quality (measured by SSIM score) falls below a threshold, indicating sufficient privacy preservation.

4. Evaluation on Different Datasets:

   • The models are evaluated on the ImageNet dataset for image classification, as well as the TON IoT dataset (converted to images) for cybersecurity attack detection.
   • The optimal partitioning point varies slightly based on the dataset, indicating the influence of the dataset on the reconstruct-ability of input images.

Overall, the proposed framework enables secure and efficient private inference of deep learning models by leveraging the strengths of both TEEs and GPU acceleration, while ensuring input privacy through careful model partitioning.

Stats

The paper presents the following key statistics:

VGG-16 model:

Full-Enclave inference runtime: 4.2 seconds
Partitioned inference runtime: 1.4 seconds
Performance speedup: 66.6%

ResNet-50 model:

Full-Enclave inference runtime: 4.02 seconds
Partitioned inference runtime: 3.6 seconds
Performance speedup: 10.4%

EfficientNetB0 model:

Full-Enclave inference runtime: 3.7 seconds
Partitioned inference runtime: 2.5 seconds
Performance speedup: 32.4%

Quotes

"The technique comprises two distinct partitions: one executed within the TEE, and the other carried out using a GPU accelerator."
"Layer partitioning exposes intermediate feature maps in the clear which can lead to reconstruction attacks to recover the input."
"We conduct experiments to demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in protecting against input reconstruction attacks developed using trained conditional Generative Adversarial Network(c-GAN)."

Key Insights Distilled From

Privacy preserving layer partitioning for Deep Neural Network models

by Kishore Raja... at arxiv.org 04-12-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2404.07437.pdf

Deeper Inquiries

What other techniques or approaches could be explored to further improve the privacy-performance trade-off in private inference of deep learning models

To further enhance the privacy-performance trade-off in private inference of deep learning models, several techniques and approaches can be explored:

Federated Learning: Implementing federated learning allows training models across decentralized devices without exchanging raw data, thus preserving privacy while improving performance.

Homomorphic Encryption: Utilizing homomorphic encryption enables computations on encrypted data, maintaining privacy during inference without compromising performance significantly.

Differential Privacy: Incorporating differential privacy techniques adds noise to the data to prevent individual data points from being exposed, striking a balance between privacy and performance.

Secure Multi-Party Computation: Implementing secure multi-party computation protocols enables multiple parties to jointly compute a function over their inputs while keeping individual data private.

Quantization and Pruning: Applying quantization and pruning techniques reduces model complexity, leading to faster inference without compromising privacy.

By combining these approaches with the layer partitioning technique and GPU acceleration, the privacy-performance trade-off in private inference of deep learning models can be further optimized.

How could the proposed framework be extended to support other types of machine learning models beyond CNNs, such as transformers or graph neural networks

To extend the proposed framework to support other types of machine learning models beyond Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), such as transformers or graph neural networks, the following adaptations can be made:

Transformer Models: For transformer models like BERT or GPT, the framework can be modified to handle the unique attention mechanisms and sequential processing involved in transformers. This may involve partitioning the self-attention layers and offloading computations accordingly.

Graph Neural Networks (GNNs): For GNNs, the framework can be extended to accommodate the graph structure and message passing mechanisms. Partitioning can be done based on graph convolutional layers, and offloading can be optimized for graph-related computations.

Custom Layer Partitioning: Developing custom layer partitioning strategies tailored to the specific architecture and requirements of transformer or GNN models to ensure efficient execution within the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) and GPU.

Data Preprocessing: Adapting data preprocessing steps to suit the input requirements of transformer or GNN models, ensuring compatibility with the framework's data handling mechanisms.

By incorporating these adjustments, the framework can be versatile enough to support a broader range of machine learning models beyond CNNs.

What are the potential challenges and considerations in deploying this framework in real-world cloud-based machine learning services, and how could they be addressed

Deploying the proposed framework in real-world cloud-based machine learning services may pose several challenges and considerations:

Resource Allocation: Ensuring optimal resource allocation between the TEE and GPU to balance privacy and performance requirements effectively.

Scalability: Addressing scalability issues when deploying the framework for large-scale machine learning tasks, considering the overhead of partitioning and offloading computations.

Security Concerns: Mitigating potential security risks associated with enclave execution and data transfer between the TEE and GPU to prevent unauthorized access or data breaches.

Regulatory Compliance: Ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations and standards when handling sensitive user data in cloud environments.

Integration with Cloud Platforms: Integrating the framework seamlessly with existing cloud-based machine learning platforms and services, considering compatibility and interoperability requirements.

By proactively addressing these challenges and considerations through robust implementation, thorough testing, and continuous monitoring, the framework can be effectively deployed in real-world cloud-based machine learning services while maintaining privacy and performance standards.