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We propose trace abstraction modulo probability, a proof technique for verifying high-probability accuracy guarantees of probabilistic programs. Our proofs overapproximate the set of program traces using failure automata, finite-state automata that upper bound the probability of failing to satisfy a target specification. We automate proof construction by reducing probabilistic reasoning to logical reasoning: we use program synthesis methods to select axioms for sampling instructions, and then apply Craig interpolation to prove that traces fail the target specification with only a small probability. Our method handles programs with unknown inputs, parameterized distributions, infinite state spaces, and parameterized specifications. We evaluate our technique on a range of randomized algorithms drawn from the differential privacy literature and beyond. To our knowledge, our approach is the first to automatically establish accuracy properties of these algorithms.
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Synthesizing Tight Privacy and Accuracy Bounds via Weighted Model Counting
Programmatically generating tight differential privacy (DP) bounds is a hard problem. Two core challenges are (1) finding expressive, compact, and efficient encodings of the distributions of DP algorithms, and (2) state space explosion stemming from the multiple quantifiers and relational properties of the DP definition. We address the first challenge by developing a method for tight privacy and accuracy bound synthesis using weighted model counting on binary decision diagrams, a state of the art technique from the artificial intelligence and automated reasoning communities for exactly computing probability distributions. We address the second challenge by developing a framework for leveraging inherent symmetries in DP algorithms. Our solution benefits from ongoing research in probabilistic programming languages, allowing us to succinctly and expressively represent different DP algorithms with approachable language syntax that can be used by non-experts. We provide a detailed case study of our solution on the binary randomized response algorithm. We also evaluate an implementation of our solution using the Dice probabilistic programming language for the randomized response and truncated geometric above threshold algorithms. We compare to prior work on exact DP verification using Markov chain probabilistic model checking and the decision procedure DiPC. Very few existing works consider mechanized analysis of accuracy guarantees for DP algorithms. We additionally provide a detailed analysis using our technique for finding tight accuracy bounds for DP algorithms
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- Award ID(s):
- 2247484
- PAR ID:
- 10539948
- Publisher / Repository:
- IEEE 37th Computer Security Foundations Symposium (CSF)
- Date Published:
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Differential Privacy Weighted Model Counting Probabilistic Programming
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
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