mlsanityData to 14 Oct 2026

DeepiSign: Invisible Fragile Watermark to Protect the Integrityand Authenticity of CNN

arXiv 2101.04319 ↗First posted 12 Jan 2021cs.CR cs.LGcited by 4

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Abstract (arXiv)

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) deployed in real-life applications such as autonomous vehicles have shown to be vulnerable to manipulation attacks, such as poisoning attacks and fine-tuning. Hence, it is essential to ensure the integrity and authenticity of CNNs because compromised models can produce incorrect outputs and behave maliciously. In this paper, we propose a self-contained tamper-proofing method, called DeepiSign, to ensure the integrity and authenticity of CNN models against such manipulation attacks. DeepiSign applies the idea of fragile invisible watermarking to securely embed a secret and its hash value into a CNN model. To verify the integrity and authenticity of the model, we retrieve the secret from the model, compute the hash value of the secret, and compare it with the embedded hash value. To minimize the effects of the embedded secret on the CNN model, we use a wavelet-based technique to transform weights into the frequency domain and embed the secret into less significant coefficients. Our theoretical analysis shows that DeepiSign can hide up to 1KB secret in each layer with minimal loss of the model's accuracy. To evaluate the security and performance of DeepiSign, we performed experiments on four pre-trained models (ResNet18, VGG16, AlexNet, and MobileNet) using three datasets (MNIST, CIFAR-10, and Imagenet) against three types of manipulation attacks (targeted input poisoning, output poisoning, and fine-tuning). The results demonstrate that DeepiSign is verifiable without degrading the classification accuracy, and robust against representative CNN manipulation attacks.

Key facts. Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). Builds on 13 of its 28 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 12 Jan 2021.

Builds on

13 of 28 references.

References · 13

  1. 2015Deep Residual Learning for Image Recognitioncited by 52,096
  2. 2014Very Deep Convolutional Networks for Large-Scale Image Recognitioncited by 15,364
  3. 2018MobileNetV2: Inverted Residuals and Linear Bottleneckscited by 4,795
  4. 2017BadNets: Identifying Vulnerabilities in the Machine Learning Model Supply Chaincited by 1,106
  5. 2017Targeted Backdoor Attacks on Deep Learning Systems Using Data Poisoningcited by 1,055
  6. 2018Turning Your Weakness Into a Strength: Watermarking Deep Neural Networks by Backdooringcited by 357
  7. 2017Embedding Watermarks into Deep Neural Networkscited by 248
  8. 2015DeepDriving: Learning Affordance for Direct Perception in Autonomous Drivingcited by 231
  9. 2017Neural Trojanscited by 153
  10. 2017Adversarial Frontier Stitching for Remote Neural Network Watermarkingcited by 118
  11. 2018Neural Lander: Stable Drone Landing Control using Learned Dynamicscited by 85
  12. 2018Digital Watermarking for Deep Neural Networkscited by 39
1 more
  1. 2018VerIDeep: Verifying Integrity of Deep Neural Networks through Sensitive-Sample Fingerprintingcited by 8

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Cited by year

Citing papers per year: 2021: 1; 2022: 1; 2023: 1; 2024: 1.

4 papers.

Similar, not cited

Close in wording, no citation either way

  1. 2024DeepiSign-G: Generic Watermark to Stamp Hidden DNN Parameters for Self-contained Tracking
  2. 2026DeepSignature: Digitally Signed, Content-Encoding Watermarks for Robust and Transparent Image Authentication
  3. 2021Exploring Structure Consistency for Deep Model Watermarking
  4. 2021Deep Model Intellectual Property Protection via Deep Watermarking
  5. 2023Rethinking White-Box Watermarks on Deep Learning Models under Neural Structural Obfuscation
  6. 2022FaceSigns: Semi-Fragile Neural Watermarks for Media Authentication and Countering Deepfakes
  7. 2023Adaptive White-Box Watermarking with Self-Mutual Check Parameters in Deep Neural Networks
  8. 2025Persistence of Backdoor-based Watermarks for Neural Networks: A Comprehensive Evaluation