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Semi-supervised deep learning approach to break common CAPTCHAs

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Abstract

Manual data annotation is a time consuming activity. A novel strategy for automatic training of the CAPTCHA breaking system with no manual dataset creation is presented in this paper. We demonstrate the feasibility of the attack against a text-based CAPTCHA scheme utilizing similar network infrastructure used for Denial of Service attacks. The main goal of our research is to present a possible vulnerability in CAPTCHA systems when combining the brute-force attack with transfer learning. The classification step utilizes a simple convolutional neural network with 15 layers. Training stage uses automatically prepared dataset created without any human intervention and transfer learning for fine-tuning the deep neural network classifier. The designed system for breaking text-based CAPTCHAs achieved 80% classification accuracy after 6 fine-tuning steps for a 5 digit text-based CAPTCHA system. The results presented in this paper suggest, that even the simple attack with a large number of attacking computers can be an effective alternative to current CAPTCHA breaking systems.

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Acknowledgements

The completion of this paper was made possible by the grant No. FEKT-S-20-6205 - “Research in Automation, Cybernetics and Artificial Intelligence within Industry 4.0” financially supported by the Internal science fund of Brno University of Technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication, Brno University of Technology, Technicka 12, Brno, 61200, Czech Republic

    Ondrej Bostik, Karel Horak, Lukas Kratochvila, Tomas Zemcik & Simon Bilik

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Bostik, O., Horak, K., Kratochvila, L. et al. Semi-supervised deep learning approach to break common CAPTCHAs. Neural Comput & Applic 33, 13333–13343 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00521-021-05957-0

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