T2S: A Rehearsal-Based Approach for Extraction-Resistant Model Watermarking
For AI model owners, this method enhances protection against IP theft via model extraction, a severe threat in ML-as-a-service.
The paper proposes a rehearsal-based watermark embedding framework that simulates model extraction attacks during training to improve watermark transferability and robustness. Experiments show significant improvements in watermark persistence against extraction and removal attacks.
Model watermarking safeguards AI model intellectual property by embedding distinctive knowledge that induces unique behavioral signatures. The primary technical challenge lies in ensuring watermark robustness against various post-processing attacks on the watermarked model. Model extraction attacks emerge as the most severe threat, where adversaries exploit prediction outputs to train surrogate models that illegally replicate the original model's functionality. In this work, we propose a rehearsal-based watermark embedding framework to enhance the robustness of model watermarks against model extraction attacks. By simulating the extraction process, our method leverages the loss of a \textit{simulated stolen model} on a trigger set as a training signal to fine-tune the watermark knowledge within the target model. This fine-tuning step encourages the watermark to be embedded in a way that boosts transferability, thereby increasing its chances of persisting and remaining detectable in stolen models. Comprehensive experiments conducted under diverse settings demonstrate that the proposed method significantly improves the robustness of model watermarks against both model extraction and subsequent watermark removal attacks.