Pseudonymized Data Enrichment for Privacy-Safe User Matching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data management systems face challenges in maintaining privacy and security of sensitive user data, particularly in combining first-party and third-party data, leading to risks such as data breaches and non-compliance with data protection regulations.
Innovation Solution
A system for pseudonymized data enrichment that uses encryption and hashing to replace personally identifiable information with artificial identifiers, allowing secure integration and analysis of user data across different environments without exposing sensitive information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional systems directly handle PII for data enrichment, then data enrichment can be performed, but data security and privacy protection deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a pseudonymization layer as an intermediary between the original PII data and the enrichment process. Instead of directly handling PII, the system uses pseudonyms that can be mapped to PII only when needed, allowing data enrichment to proceed while maintaining security. The pseudonymization server acts as a mediator that enables data processing without exposing sensitive information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a copy of the data structure where PII is replaced by pseudonyms. This copy maintains the necessary data relationships and enrichment capabilities while removing the sensitive original PII from the processing flow. The pseudonymized data structure allows enrichment operations to be performed on copies rather than the original sensitive data.
2Ease of operation
If PII is exposed during data processing, then data can be processed, but risk of data breaches and identity theft increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pseudonymization server serves as an intermediary that enables data processing operations without exposing PII. The server handles the mapping between pseudonyms and PII, allowing the processing system to operate on pseudonymized data while the original sensitive data remains protected and inaccessible to the processing system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the data processing function into separate components: a pseudonymization layer that handles PII, a processing layer that works with pseudonyms, and a mapping layer that connects them. This segmentation ensures that PII is isolated from the processing operations, reducing the risk of exposure during data manipulation.
3Reliability
If encryption keys and hashed data are stored together, then data can be decrypted and processed, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pseudonymization server performs multiple functions within a single system component: it generates pseudonyms from PII, stores the mappings, receives pseudonymized data for enrichment, and returns enriched pseudonymized data. By consolidating these functions into one universal service, the patent reduces overall system complexity compared to having separate components for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The pseudonymization server autonomously handles the entire pseudonymization process without requiring external intervention. It self-manages the generation of pseudonyms, maintenance of mapping tables, and processing of enrichment requests, reducing the need for complex external coordination and manual configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
A request for enrichment data for enriching user data for a plurality of users may be received from a user device within a first data environment. The request may include, for each user, a respective encryption key used to encrypt the respective user data, respective encrypted user data, and an indication of a respective hashing rule used to generate the respective encryption key. The encrypted user data for the users may be decrypted in a second data environment using the encryption keys. The hashing rule may be used to generate pseudonymized representations of the decrypted user data. The pseudonymized representations of the decrypted user data may be mapped to pseudonymized representations of the enrichment data that correspond to the user data. The pseudonymized representations of the decrypted user data mapped to the pseudonymized representations of the enrichment data may be sent to the user device within the first data environment.