Computer scientists in the US have discovered ways to “re-identify” the names of people included in supposedly anonymous datasets.
In one example, a movie rental company released an anonymous list of film-ratings taken from its 500,000 subscribers. Using a statistical “de-anonymization” technique, the academics were able to identify individuals and their film preferences.
The discovery raises concerns about how safe it is to release personal information — such as medical records or mobile phone data — even if details such as names or national insurance numbers have been removed. There are fears the information could be accessed by criminals.
The discovery has led British researchers to raise the issue in a report they are writing for the European commission. Ian Brown, of the Oxford Internet Institute and a co-author, said the example of the film list was relatively trivial.
“But this raises concerns for more sensitive data such as medical records,” he said. “Epidemiologists say they could do interesting research if they had access to more anonymous data. This shows it is difficult to do that in a way that can’t be reversed.”
One concern is that criminals could identify individuals through mobile phone data and use the information to track people’s movements and find out when they are away from home.
“That is one worry. Other people who you might worry about accessing that information include employers, insurers or the government. There are a whole range of potential users,” Brown said.
Experts say the discovery that lists can be “de-anonymized” needs to be included in the debate about how information is released and where to draw the line. But they also highlight the benefits of letting researchers and others access large datasets.
Last week Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the Web, launched a new site — data.gov.uk — on which users will be able to access information on crime rates, exam results, house prices and more.
“They are talking about non-personal data,” Brown said. “But another thing they are looking at releasing is crime reports down to street level. You have to think about how people might be able to link that back to individuals.”
William Heath, founder of Ctrl-Shift, which specializes in personal data, said: “If you take it in the light of Friday’s news about data.gov.uk, the government has clearly done something really good to make public data available. Now they need a more enlightened approach to personal data, but you can’t simply say anonymized data can be safely made public because it is clear how hard it is truly to anonymize data.”
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese