Position Data Pseudonymization via Relative Coordinate Transformation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data anonymization methods, such as encryption, reveal privacy information during decryption, making it difficult to perform specialized analyses on trajectory data, and existing pseudonymization techniques do not effectively regulate and restore privacy information for global positioning system data in compliance with security and privacy regulations like GDPR.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for pseudonymization that generates and randomizes relative positions from absolute positions using a seed, allowing for the restoration of both relative and absolute positions for analysis, while maintaining privacy by storing and retrieving pseudonymized data in separate storage regions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If encryption is used to anonymize position data, then privacy protection is improved, but the ability to perform specialized analyses on trajectory data deteriorates because privacy information is revealed during decryption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a pseudonymized copy of the original position data that maintains the trajectory patterns and spatial relationships needed for analysis, while replacing actual location information with pseudonyms. This allows analytical operations to be performed on the copy without exposing sensitive privacy information, resolving the contradiction between privacy protection and analysis capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms position data from absolute coordinates (latitude/longitude) into relative position representations (direction and distance from reference points). This parameter transformation preserves the essential trajectory characteristics for analysis while eliminating direct geolocation information, thereby maintaining both privacy protection and analytical utility.
2Reliability
If pseudonymization is applied to position data, then privacy information confidentiality is improved, but data utility for analysis deteriorates without proper restoration mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments position data into two distinct components: pseudonymized position information for privacy protection and separate reference data (absolute positions, direction references) for restoration. This segmentation allows the system to maintain privacy during storage and transmission while enabling complete data restoration when analysis requires access to original location information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces direction references and reference point data as intermediary elements that bridge the gap between pseudonymized data and original position information. These intermediaries enable accurate restoration of absolute positions through mathematical relationships without directly exposing sensitive location data during the pseudonymization process.
3Reliability
If relative positions are used instead of absolute positions, then privacy protection is improved, but the complexity of restoring absolute positions increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-calculating and storing direction references and reference point information alongside the pseudonymized relative positions. This preparation work is done in advance, so that when restoration is needed, the system can efficiently compute absolute positions using these pre-computed references without complex real-time calculations, thereby reducing restoration process complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Position data may gradually pseudonymized by a method, comprising: generating a sequence of relative positions from a sequence of absolute positions of a moving object; randomizing the sequence of relative positions using at least a sequence of random numbers generated from at least one seed; in response to receiving an analytical job comprising the at least one seed, restoring the sequence of relative positions from the randomized sequence of relative positions; and in response to receiving an analytical job comprising both the at least one seed and at least one absolute position derived from the sequence of absolute positions, restoring the sequence of absolute positions from the randomized sequence of relative positions.