Intranet Social Graph Calculation with Privacy Anonymization

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing systems fail to effectively collect and manage data within private computer networks (intranets) while ensuring user privacy, as they lack mechanisms to comply with privacy laws and regulations, and struggle to provide social graph services that balance data utilization with privacy protection.

Innovation Solution

A system that combines configurable data collectors from various intranet sources with local or cloud-based storage and configuration services to transform, aggregate, and anonymize data, allowing for the provisioning of social graph services while adhering to privacy laws and business policies, by calculating and displaying a social graph based on user activity, organizational hierarchy, and physical adjacency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If data is collected from intranet sources to provide social graph services, then the usefulness and functionality of the system is improved, but privacy protection and compliance with privacy laws deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesocial graph service functionalityVSAvoidprivacy violation risk

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary processing layer between data collection and social graph generation that anonymizes and aggregates data. This intermediary system transforms personally identifiable information into anonymized identifiers, allowing social graph services to function while protecting user privacy and complying with privacy laws.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the parameter of data representation by transforming detailed personal information into aggregated and anonymized forms. Data is processed to retain structural relationships and social patterns while removing personally identifiable characteristics, enabling service functionality without privacy violations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Measurement precision

If detailed user activity data is collected and stored, then the accuracy and detail of social graph calculation is improved, but the complexity of privacy management and data security increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesocial graph accuracyVSAvoidprivacy management complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the data processing workflow into distinct stages: data collection, anonymization, aggregation, and social graph generation. Each stage processes data at an appropriate level of detail, maintaining accuracy where needed while reducing privacy risks at earlier stages through anonymization and aggregation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Adaptability or versatility

If personal information is stored and processed for social networking features, then user connectivity and collaboration capabilities are improved, but compliance with privacy laws and regulations becomes more difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecollaboration capabilityVSAvoidlegal compliance reliability

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

An intermediary anonymization system is introduced that acts as a mediator between personal information and social graph processing. This intermediary transforms PII into anonymized identifiers, enabling collaboration features to function while ensuring compliance with privacy laws by preventing direct access to personal information.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

4Loss of information

If comprehensive data collection is implemented across multiple intranet sources, then the completeness of social graph information is improved, but the difficulty of locating and managing stored data increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinformation completenessVSAvoiddata management ease

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges data from multiple intranet sources into a unified anonymized data structure. By combining data collection, anonymization, and storage into an integrated system that processes all sources through the same privacy-preserving pipeline, the system maintains information completeness while simplifying data management through centralized control.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS8819009B2Automatic social graph calculation

Publication Date: 2014.08.26 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

AI summary

Systems, methods and computer program products are disclosed for facilitating the collection of activity data, organizational hierarchy data and distribution list data within a private computer network (especially an intranet) while complying with applicable privacy laws and regulations, as well as individual organizations' business rules addressing intranet users' privacy to display a social graph of organization members related to a requesting organization member. Such systems, methods and computer program products allow for the collecting of such data passively without a need for active participation from the requester. A computer-implemented process for displaying a social graph further comprises calculating sub-scores for each of activity data, organizational data and distribution list data and calculating a total score for each related organization member and displaying the social graph comprising those organization members whose score exceeds a predetermined value as related to the requester.