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Abstract
The rise of Decentralized Federated Learning (DFL) has enabled the training
of machine learning models across federated participants, fostering
decentralized model aggregation and reducing dependence on a server. However,
this approach introduces unique communication security challenges that have yet
to be thoroughly addressed in the literature. These challenges primarily
originate from the decentralized nature of the aggregation process, the varied
roles and responsibilities of the participants, and the absence of a central
authority to oversee and mitigate threats. Addressing these challenges, this
paper first delineates a comprehensive threat model focused on DFL
communications. In response to these identified risks, this work introduces a
security module to counter communication-based attacks for DFL platforms. The
module combines security techniques such as symmetric and asymmetric encryption
with Moving Target Defense (MTD) techniques, including random neighbor
selection and IP/port switching. The security module is implemented in a DFL
platform, Fedstellar, allowing the deployment and monitoring of the federation.
A DFL scenario with physical and virtual deployments have been executed,
encompassing three security configurations: (i) a baseline without security,
(ii) an encrypted configuration, and (iii) a configuration integrating both
encryption and MTD techniques. The effectiveness of the security module is
validated through experiments with the MNIST dataset and eclipse attacks. The
results showed an average F1 score of 95%, with the most secure configuration
resulting in CPU usage peaking at 68% (+-9%) in virtual deployments and network
traffic reaching 480.8 MB (+-18 MB), effectively mitigating risks associated
with eavesdropping or eclipse attacks.