Adversarial Machine Learning: A Taxonomy and Terminology of Attacks and Mitigations

This NIST Trustworthy and Responsible AI report develops a taxonomy of concepts and defines terminology in the field of adversarial machine learning (AML). The taxonomy is built on surveying the AML literature and is arranged in a conceptual hierarchy that includes key types of ML methods and lifecycle stages of attack, attacker goals and objectives, and attacker capabilities and knowledge of the learning process. The report also provides corresponding methods for mitigating and managing the consequences of attacks and points out relevant open challenges to take into account in the lifecycle of AI systems. The terminology used in the report is consistent with the literature on AML and is complemented by a glossary that defines key terms associated with the security of AI systems and is intended to assist non-expert readers. Taken together, the taxonomy and terminology are meant to inform other standards and future practice guides for assessing and managing the security of AI systems, by establishing a common language and understanding of the rapidly developing AML landscape.