English

ISACL: Internal State Analyzer for Copyrighted Training Data Leakage

Computation and Language 2025-09-16 v2 Machine Learning

Abstract

Large Language Models (LLMs) have revolutionized Natural Language Processing (NLP) but pose risks of inadvertently exposing copyrighted or proprietary data, especially when such data is used for training but not intended for distribution. Traditional methods address these leaks only after content is generated, which can lead to the exposure of sensitive information. This study introduces a proactive approach: examining LLMs' internal states before text generation to detect potential leaks. By using a curated dataset of copyrighted materials, we trained a neural network classifier to identify risks, allowing for early intervention by stopping the generation process or altering outputs to prevent disclosure. Integrated with a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) system, this framework ensures adherence to copyright and licensing requirements while enhancing data privacy and ethical standards. Our results show that analyzing internal states effectively mitigates the risk of copyrighted data leakage, offering a scalable solution that fits smoothly into AI workflows, ensuring compliance with copyright regulations while maintaining high-quality text generation. The implementation is available on GitHub.\footnote{https://github.com/changhu73/Internal_states_leakage}

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2508.17767,
  title  = {ISACL: Internal State Analyzer for Copyrighted Training Data Leakage},
  author = {Guangwei Zhang and Qisheng Su and Jiateng Liu and Cheng Qian and Yanzhou Pan and Yanjie Fu and Denghui Zhang},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2508.17767},
  year   = {2025}
}
R2 v1 2026-07-01T05:04:10.650Z