Attacking Recommender Systems: A Cost-Benefit Analysis

  • Authors:
  • Neil J. Hurley;Michael P. O'Mahony;Guenole C. M. Silvestre

  • Affiliations:
  • University College Dublin;University College Dublin;University College Dublin

  • Venue:
  • IEEE Intelligent Systems
  • Year:
  • 2007

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Abstract

Collaborative recommender systems are vulnerable to attacks that seek to manipulate recommendations made for target items. The authors examine such attacks from a cost perspective, focusing on the effect that attack size—in terms of the number of ratings inserted during an attack—has on attack success. They present a cost-benefit analysis that shows that attackers can realize profits, even when financial costs are imposed on the insertion of ratings.