arXiv subjects

Juntao Chen

Publications and source records attributed to Juntao Chen.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2025

SQUASH: A SWAP-Based Quantum Attack to Sabotage Hybrid Quantum Neural Networks

We propose a circuit-level attack, SQUASH, a SWAP-Based Quantum Attack to sabotage Hybrid Quantum Neural Networks (HQNNs) for classification tasks. SQUASH is executed by inserting SWAP gate(s) into the variational quantum circuit of the victim HQNN. Unlike conventional noise-based or adversarial input attacks, SQUASH directly manipulates the circuit structure, leading to qubit misalignment and disrupting quantum state evolution. This attack is highly stealthy, as it does not require access to training data or introduce detectable perturbations in input states. Our results demonstrate that SQUASH significantly degrades classification performance, with untargeted SWAP attacks reducing accuracy by up to 74.08\% and targeted SWAP attacks reducing target class accuracy by up to 79.78\%. These findings reveal a critical vulnerability in HQNN implementations, underscoring the need for more resilient architectures against circuit-level adversarial interventions.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

What to Retrieve for Effective Retrieval-Augmented Code Generation? An Empirical Study and Beyond

Repository-level code generation remains challenging due to complex code dependencies and the limitations of large language models (LLMs) in processing long contexts. While retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) frameworks are widely adopted, the effectiveness of different retrieved information sources-contextual code, APIs, and similar snippets-has not been rigorously analyzed. Through an empirical study on two benchmarks, we demonstrate that in-context code and potential API information significantly enhance LLM performance, whereas retrieved similar code often introduces noise, degrading results by up to 15%. Based on the preliminary results, we propose AllianceCoder, a novel context-integrated method that employs chain-of-thought prompting to decompose user queries into implementation steps and retrieves APIs via semantic description matching. Through extensive experiments on CoderEval and RepoExec, AllianceCoder achieves state-of-the-art performance, improving Pass@1 by up to 20% over existing approaches.

cs.SE↗

arXiv2025

ATP: Adaptive Threshold Pruning for Efficient Data Encoding in Quantum Neural Networks

Quantum Neural Networks (QNNs) offer promising capabilities for complex data tasks, but are often constrained by limited qubit resources and high entanglement, which can hinder scalability and efficiency. In this paper, we introduce Adaptive Threshold Pruning (ATP), an encoding method that reduces entanglement and optimizes data complexity for efficient computations in QNNs. ATP dynamically prunes non-essential features in the data based on adaptive thresholds, effectively reducing quantum circuit requirements while preserving high performance. Extensive experiments across multiple datasets demonstrate that ATP reduces entanglement entropy and improves adversarial robustness when combined with adversarial training methods like FGSM. Our results highlight ATPs ability to balance computational efficiency and model resilience, achieving significant performance improvements with fewer resources, which will help make QNNs more feasible in practical, resource-constrained settings.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

SPRIG: Stackelberg Perception-Reinforcement Learning with Internal Game Dynamics

Deep reinforcement learning agents often face challenges to effectively coordinate perception and decision-making components, particularly in environments with high-dimensional sensory inputs where feature relevance varies. This work introduces SPRIG (Stackelberg Perception-Reinforcement learning with Internal Game dynamics), a framework that models the internal perception-policy interaction within a single agent as a cooperative Stackelberg game. In SPRIG, the perception module acts as a leader, strategically processing raw sensory states, while the policy module follows, making decisions based on extracted features. SPRIG provides theoretical guarantees through a modified Bellman operator while preserving the benefits of modern policy optimization. Experimental results on the Atari BeamRider environment demonstrate SPRIG's effectiveness, achieving around 30% higher returns than standard PPO through its game-theoretical balance of feature extraction and decision-making.

cs.AI↗

arXiv2024

Hardware-aware Circuit Cutting and Distributed Qubit Mapping for Connected Quantum Systems

Quantum computing offers unparalleled computational capabilities but faces significant challenges, including limited qubit counts, diverse hardware topologies, and dynamic noise/error rates, which hinder scalability and reliability. Distributed quantum computing, particularly chip-to-chip connections, has emerged as a solution by interconnecting multiple processors to collaboratively execute large circuits. While hardware advancements, such as IBM's Quantum Flamingo, focus on improving inter-chip fidelity, limited research addresses efficient circuit cutting and qubit mapping in distributed systems. This project introduces DisMap, a self-adaptive, hardware-aware framework for chip-to-chip distributed quantum systems. DisMap analyzes qubit noise and error rates to construct a virtual system topology, guiding circuit partitioning, and distributed qubit mapping to minimize SWAP overhead and enhance fidelity. Implemented with IBM Qiskit and compared with the state-of-the-art, DisMap achieves up to a 20.8\% improvement in fidelity and reduces SWAP overhead by as much as 80.2\%, demonstrating scalability and effectiveness in extensive evaluations on real quantum hardware topologies.

cs.DC↗

arXiv2024

Efficient Circuit Cutting and Scheduling in a Multi-Node Quantum System with Dynamic EPR Pairs

Despite advancements, current quantum hardware faces significant challenges, including limited qubit counts and high susceptibility to noise, which hinder the execution of large, complex algorithms. To address these limitations, multi-node quantum systems and quantum circuit cutting techniques partition large circuits into smaller subcircuits that can be executed on individual quantum machines and then reconstructed using classical resources. However, these methods introduce new challenges, such as the large overhead from subcircuit reconstruction and additional noise from entangled EPR pairs, especially in multi-node quantum systems. In this paper, we propose the Efficient Circuit Cutting and Scheduling (EC2S) system, which integrates EPR pairs with circuit cutting to address these issues. EC2S improves system performance by transitioning from logical to physical EPR pairs and further reduces computational overhead by minimizing the number of subcircuits during the reconstruction phase. \sol~ is implemented using Qiskit and evaluated on both real quantum hardware and various emulators. Compared to the state-of-the-art Qiskit-Addon-Cut, EC2S achieves significant improvements in fidelity, up to 16.7\%, and reduces system-wide expenditure by up to 99.5\%.

cs.DC↗

arXiv2024

Game-Theoretic Neyman-Pearson Detection to Combat Strategic Evasion

The security in networked systems depends greatly on recognizing and identifying adversarial behaviors. Traditional detection methods focus on specific categories of attacks and have become inadequate for increasingly stealthy and deceptive attacks that are designed to bypass detection strategically. This work aims to develop a holistic theory to countermeasure such evasive attacks. We focus on extending a fundamental class of statistical-based detection methods based on Neyman-Pearson's (NP) hypothesis testing formulation. We propose game-theoretic frameworks to capture the conflicting relationship between a strategic evasive attacker and an evasion-aware NP detector. By analyzing both the equilibrium behaviors of the attacker and the NP detector, we characterize their performance using Equilibrium Receiver-Operational-Characteristic (EROC) curves. We show that the evasion-aware NP detectors outperform the passive ones in the way that the former can act strategically against the attacker's behavior and adaptively modify their decision rules based on the received messages. In addition, we extend our framework to a sequential setting where the user sends out identically distributed messages. We corroborate the analytical results with a case study of anomaly detection.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2024

Next-Generation Phishing: How LLM Agents Empower Cyber Attackers

The escalating threat of phishing emails has become increasingly sophisticated with the rise of Large Language Models (LLMs). As attackers exploit LLMs to craft more convincing and evasive phishing emails, it is crucial to assess the resilience of current phishing defenses. In this study we conduct a comprehensive evaluation of traditional phishing detectors, such as Gmail Spam Filter, Apache SpamAssassin, and Proofpoint, as well as machine learning models like SVM, Logistic Regression, and Naive Bayes, in identifying both traditional and LLM-rephrased phishing emails. We also explore the emerging role of LLMs as phishing detection tools, a method already adopted by companies like NTT Security Holdings and JPMorgan Chase. Our results reveal notable declines in detection accuracy for rephrased emails across all detectors, highlighting critical weaknesses in current phishing defenses. As the threat landscape evolves, our findings underscore the need for stronger security controls and regulatory oversight on LLM-generated content to prevent its misuse in creating advanced phishing attacks. This study contributes to the development of more effective Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) by leveraging LLMs to generate diverse phishing variants that can be used for data augmentation, harnessing the power of LLMs to enhance phishing detection, and paving the way for more robust and adaptable threat detection systems.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2024

Federated Learning for Discrete Optimal Transport with Large Population under Incomplete Information

Optimal transport is a powerful framework for the efficient allocation of resources between sources and targets. However, traditional models often struggle to scale effectively in the presence of large and heterogeneous populations. In this work, we introduce a discrete optimal transport framework designed to handle large-scale, heterogeneous target populations, characterized by type distributions. We address two scenarios: one where the type distribution of targets is known, and one where it is unknown. For the known distribution, we propose a fully distributed algorithm to achieve optimal resource allocation. In the case of unknown distribution, we develop a federated learning-based approach that enables efficient computation of the optimal transport scheme while preserving privacy. Case studies are provided to evaluate the performance of our learning algorithm.

cs.AI↗

arXiv2024

Mean Field Control by Stochastic Koopman Operator via a Spectral Method

Mean field control provides a robust framework for coordinating large-scale populations with complex interactions and has wide applications across diverse fields. However, the inherent nonlinearity and the presence of unknown system dynamics pose significant challenges for developing effective analytic or numerical solutions. There is a pressing need for data-driven methodologies to construct accurate models and facilitate efficient planning and control. To this end, we leverage Koopman operator theory to advance solution methods for mean field control problems. Our approach involves exploring stochastic Koopman operators using spectral analysis techniques. Through Koopman decomposition, we derive a linear model for mean field control problems in a data-driven fashion. Finally, we develop a model predictive control framework to achieve robust control and reduce the computational complexity for mean field control problems, thereby enhancing the efficacy and applicability of mean field control solutions in various domains.

math.OC↗

arXiv2024

Visualizing the Shadows: Unveiling Data Poisoning Behaviors in Federated Learning

This demo paper examines the susceptibility of Federated Learning (FL) systems to targeted data poisoning attacks, presenting a novel system for visualizing and mitigating such threats. We simulate targeted data poisoning attacks via label flipping and analyze the impact on model performance, employing a five-component system that includes Simulation and Data Generation, Data Collection and Upload, User-friendly Interface, Analysis and Insight, and Advisory System. Observations from three demo modules: label manipulation, attack timing, and malicious attack availability, and two analysis components: utility and analytical behavior of local model updates highlight the risks to system integrity and offer insight into the resilience of FL systems. The demo is available at https://github.com/CathyXueqingZhang/DataPoisoningVis.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2024

Resource-Efficient and Self-Adaptive Quantum Search in a Quantum-Classical Hybrid System

Over the past decade, the rapid advancement of deep learning and big data applications has been driven by vast datasets and high-performance computing systems. However, as we approach the physical limits of semiconductor fabrication in the post-Moore's Law era, questions arise about the future of these applications. In parallel, quantum computing has made significant progress with the potential to break limits. Major companies like IBM, Google, and Microsoft provide access to noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) computers. Despite the theoretical promise of Shor's and Grover's algorithms, practical implementation on current quantum devices faces challenges, such as demanding additional resources and a high number of controlled operations. To tackle these challenges and optimize the utilization of limited onboard qubits, we introduce ReSaQuS, a resource-efficient index-value searching system within a quantum-classical hybrid framework. Building on Grover's algorithm, ReSaQuS employs an automatically managed iterative search approach. This method analyzes problem size, filters fewer probable data points, and progressively reduces the dataset with decreasing qubit requirements. Implemented using Qiskit and evaluated through extensive experiments, ReSaQuS has demonstrated a substantial reduction, up to 86.36\% in cumulative qubit consumption and 72.72\% in active periods, reinforcing its potential in optimizing quantum computing application deployment.

cs.DC↗

arXiv2024

Benchmarking Optimizers for Qumode State Preparation with Variational Quantum Algorithms

Quantum state preparation involves preparing a target state from an initial system, a process integral to applications such as quantum machine learning and solving systems of linear equations. Recently, there has been a growing interest in qumodes due to advancements in the field and their potential applications. However there is a notable gap in the literature specifically addressing this area. This paper aims to bridge this gap by providing performance benchmarks of various optimizers used in state preparation with Variational Quantum Algorithms. We conducted extensive testing across multiple scenarios, including different target states, both ideal and sampling simulations, and varying numbers of basis gate layers. Our evaluations offer insights into the complexity of learning each type of target state and demonstrate that some optimizers perform better than others in this context. Notably, the Powell optimizer was found to be exceptionally robust against sampling errors, making it a preferred choice in scenarios prone to such inaccuracies. Additionally, the Simultaneous Perturbation Stochastic Approximation optimizer was distinguished for its efficiency and ability to handle increased parameter dimensionality effectively.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Scalable Circuit Cutting and Scheduling in a Resource-constrained and Distributed Quantum System

Despite quantum computing's rapid development, current systems remain limited in practical applications due to their limited qubit count and quality. Various technologies, such as superconducting, trapped ions, and neutral atom quantum computing technologies are progressing towards a fault tolerant era, however they all face a diverse set of challenges in scalability and control. Recent efforts have focused on multi-node quantum systems that connect multiple smaller quantum devices to execute larger circuits. Future demonstrations hope to use quantum channels to couple systems, however current demonstrations can leverage classical communication with circuit cutting techniques. This involves cutting large circuits into smaller subcircuits and reconstructing them post-execution. However, existing cutting methods are hindered by lengthy search times as the number of qubits and gates increases. Additionally, they often fail to effectively utilize the resources of various worker configurations in a multi-node system. To address these challenges, we introduce FitCut, a novel approach that transforms quantum circuits into weighted graphs and utilizes a community-based, bottom-up approach to cut circuits according to resource constraints, e.g., qubit counts, on each worker. FitCut also includes a scheduling algorithm that optimizes resource utilization across workers. Implemented with Qiskit and evaluated extensively, FitCut significantly outperforms the Qiskit Circuit Knitting Toolbox, reducing time costs by factors ranging from 3 to 2000 and improving resource utilization rates by up to 3.88 times on the worker side, achieving a system-wide improvement of 2.86 times.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Understanding Police Force Resource Allocation using Adversarial Optimal Transport with Incomplete Information

Adversarial optimal transport has been proven useful as a mathematical formulation to model resource allocation problems to maximize the efficiency of transportation with an adversary, who modifies the data. It is often the case, however, that only the adversary knows which nodes are malicious and which are not. In this paper we formulate the problem of seeking adversarial optimal transport into Bayesian games. We construct the concept of Bayesian equilibrium and design a distributed algorithm that achieve those equilibria, making our model applicable to large-scale networks. Keywords: game theory, crime control, Markov games

cs.GT↗

arXiv2024

A Quantum-Classical Collaborative Training Architecture Based on Quantum State Fidelity

Recent advancements have highlighted the limitations of current quantum systems, particularly the restricted number of qubits available on near-term quantum devices. This constraint greatly inhibits the range of applications that can leverage quantum computers. Moreover, as the available qubits increase, the computational complexity grows exponentially, posing additional challenges. Consequently, there is an urgent need to use qubits efficiently and mitigate both present limitations and future complexities. To address this, existing quantum applications attempt to integrate classical and quantum systems in a hybrid framework. In this study, we concentrate on quantum deep learning and introduce a collaborative classical-quantum architecture called co-TenQu. The classical component employs a tensor network for compression and feature extraction, enabling higher-dimensional data to be encoded onto logical quantum circuits with limited qubits. On the quantum side, we propose a quantum-state-fidelity-based evaluation function to iteratively train the network through a feedback loop between the two sides. co-TenQu has been implemented and evaluated with both simulators and the IBM-Q platform. Compared to state-of-the-art approaches, co-TenQu enhances a classical deep neural network by up to 41.72% in a fair setting. Additionally, it outperforms other quantum-based methods by up to 1.9 times and achieves similar accuracy while utilizing 70.59% fewer qubits.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Integrated Cyber-Physical Resiliency for Power Grids under IoT-Enabled Dynamic Botnet Attacks

The wide adoption of Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled energy devices improves the quality of life, but simultaneously, it enlarges the attack surface of the power grid system. The adversary can gain illegitimate control of a large number of these devices and use them as a means to compromise the physical grid operation, a mechanism known as the IoT botnet attack. This paper aims to improve the resiliency of cyber-physical power grids to such attacks. Specifically, we use an epidemic model to understand the dynamic botnet formation, which facilitates the assessment of the cyber layer vulnerability of the grid. The attacker aims to exploit this vulnerability to enable a successful physical compromise, while the system operator's goal is to ensure a normal operation of the grid by mitigating cyber risks. We develop a cross-layer game-theoretic framework for strategic decision-making to enhance cyber-physical grid resiliency. The cyber-layer game guides the system operator on how to defend against the botnet attacker as the first layer of defense, while the dynamic game strategy at the physical layer further counteracts the adversarial behavior in real time for improved physical resilience. A number of case studies on the IEEE-39 bus system are used to corroborate the devised approach.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2023

Policy Poisoning in Batch Learning for Linear Quadratic Control Systems via State Manipulation

In this work, we study policy poisoning through state manipulation, also known as sensor spoofing, and focus specifically on the case of an agent forming a control policy through batch learning in a linear-quadratic (LQ) system. In this scenario, an attacker aims to trick the learner into implementing a targeted malicious policy by manipulating the batch data before the agent begins its learning process. An attack model is crafted to carry out the poisoning strategically, with the goal of modifying the batch data as little as possible to avoid detection by the learner. We establish an optimization framework to guide the design of such policy poisoning attacks. The presence of bi-linear constraints in the optimization problem requires the design of a computationally efficient algorithm to obtain a solution. Therefore, we develop an iterative scheme based on the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) which is able to return solutions that are approximately optimal. Several case studies are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm in carrying out the sensor-based attack on the batch-learning agent in LQ control systems.

eess.SY↗