Data Securing Device Using Synthetic Records for K-Anonymity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional data anonymization methods, such as k-anonymization, fail to provide sufficient privacy protection by not considering the presence of specific individuals, allowing companies to potentially identify sensitive information despite anonymization.
Innovation Solution
A data securing device that uses a processor to receive individual data and anonymization parameters, suppressing data that does not satisfy k-anonymity by randomly extracting and modifying attributes, thereby making it uncertain whether a specific person's information is included, ensuring privacy protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional k-anonymization is applied to protect individual privacy, then personal identification is suppressed, but the presence of specific individuals can still be determined through attribute analysis
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter of data representation by introducing synthetic records with randomly generated attribute values. This transforms the data structure from purely real individual records to a mixture of real and synthetic records, making it impossible to determine whether specific individuals are present in the dataset while maintaining k-anonymity properties
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces synthetic records as an intermediary element between the original data and the anonymized output. These synthetic records act as a mediator that obscures the presence of real individuals by providing alternative explanations for observed attribute patterns, thereby preventing presence determination
2Ease of operation
If statistics on attributes are provided for market analysis, then overall trends can be understood, but relationships between attributes cannot be analyzed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the dataset into multiple groups based on attribute values while ensuring each group contains both real and synthetic records. This segmentation allows attribute relationship analysis within each group while the mixture of real and synthetic records maintains privacy protection by preventing presence determination
Data Source
AI summary
A data securing device according to an embodiment includes a processor that executes a process including: receiving individual data and a parameter for anonymization, using the parameter to suppress data that does not satisfy k-anonymity among data that is included in various attributes of records in the individual data, and suppressing data that is extracted from the data at random; and outputting individual data in which data is suppressed at the receiving.