Byzantine-Resilient Federated Learning via Distributed Optimization

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Xia, Yufei, Yu, Wenrui, Li, Qiongxiu
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Xia, Yufei
Yu, Wenrui
Li, Qiongxiu
author_facet Xia, Yufei
Yu, Wenrui
Li, Qiongxiu
contents Byzantine attacks present a critical challenge to Federated Learning (FL), where malicious participants can disrupt the training process, degrade model accuracy, and compromise system reliability. Traditional FL frameworks typically rely on aggregation-based protocols for model updates, leaving them vulnerable to sophisticated adversarial strategies. In this paper, we demonstrate that distributed optimization offers a principled and robust alternative to aggregation-centric methods. Specifically, we show that the Primal-Dual Method of Multipliers (PDMM) inherently mitigates Byzantine impacts by leveraging its fault-tolerant consensus mechanism. Through extensive experiments on three datasets (MNIST, FashionMNIST, and Olivetti), under various attack scenarios including bit-flipping and Gaussian noise injection, we validate the superior resilience of distributed optimization protocols. Compared to traditional aggregation-centric approaches, PDMM achieves higher model utility, faster convergence, and improved stability. Our results highlight the effectiveness of distributed optimization in defending against Byzantine threats, paving the way for more secure and resilient federated learning systems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_10792
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Byzantine-Resilient Federated Learning via Distributed Optimization
Xia, Yufei
Yu, Wenrui
Li, Qiongxiu
Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Byzantine attacks present a critical challenge to Federated Learning (FL), where malicious participants can disrupt the training process, degrade model accuracy, and compromise system reliability. Traditional FL frameworks typically rely on aggregation-based protocols for model updates, leaving them vulnerable to sophisticated adversarial strategies. In this paper, we demonstrate that distributed optimization offers a principled and robust alternative to aggregation-centric methods. Specifically, we show that the Primal-Dual Method of Multipliers (PDMM) inherently mitigates Byzantine impacts by leveraging its fault-tolerant consensus mechanism. Through extensive experiments on three datasets (MNIST, FashionMNIST, and Olivetti), under various attack scenarios including bit-flipping and Gaussian noise injection, we validate the superior resilience of distributed optimization protocols. Compared to traditional aggregation-centric approaches, PDMM achieves higher model utility, faster convergence, and improved stability. Our results highlight the effectiveness of distributed optimization in defending against Byzantine threats, paving the way for more secure and resilient federated learning systems.
title Byzantine-Resilient Federated Learning via Distributed Optimization
topic Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.10792