Attack Detection in Recommender Systems Using a Rating Stream Trend Analysis
Yong-Uk Kim, Jun-Tae Kim · Journal of Internet Computing and services · 2011
ABSTRACT The recommender system analyzes users' preference and predicts the users' preference to items in order to recommend various items such as book, movie and music for the users. The collaborative filtering method is used most widely in the recommender system. The method uses rating information of similar users when recommending items for the target users. Performance of the collaborative filtering-based recommendation is lowered when attacker maliciously manipulates the rating information on items. This kind of malicious act on a recommender system is called 'Recommendation Attack'. When the evaluation data that are in continuous change are analyzed in t he perspective of data stream, it is possible to predict attack on the recommender system. In this paper, we will suggest the method to detect attack on the recommender system by using the stream trend of the item evaluation in the collaborative filtering-based recommender system. Since the information on item evaluation included in the evaluation data tends to change frequently according to passage of time, the measurement of changes in item evaluation in a fixed period of time can enable detection of attack on the recommender system. The method suggested in this paper is to compare the evaluation stream tha t is entered continuously with the normal stream trend in the test cycle for attack detection with a view to detecting the abnormal stream trend. The proposed method can enhance operability of the recommender system and re-usability of the evaluation data. The effectiveness of the method was verified in various experiments.