US 9,870,381 B2Granted

Detecting quasi-identifiers in datasets

AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation

InventorsStefano Braghin, Aris Gkoulalas-Divanis, Michael Wurst

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Abstract

Quasi-identifiers (QIDs) are detected in a dataset using a set of computing tasks. The dataset has a plurality of records and a set of attributes. An index is generated for the dataset. The index has an indicator for each attribute value of each record in the dataset. Each indicator specifies all the records in the dataset having the same value for the attribute. Each task is assigned an attribute combination and a subset of the plurality of records in the dataset and is passed to a thread for execution on computing resources. The executing task inspects the set of records specified by the index indicator for each attribute value in the attribute combination to produce a result. The result of at least one task identifies a unique record for the associated attribute combination. The attribute combination producing the unique record is a QID.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A computer program product for detecting quasi-identifiers in a dataset using a set of computing tasks, the dataset having a plurality of records and further having a set of attributes, each record having an attribute value for each attribute in the set of attributes, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, wherein the computer readable storage medium is not a transitory signal per se, the program instructions executable by a processor to perform a method comprising:

generating a first index for the dataset, the first index having an index indicator for each attribute value of each record, each index indicator specifying a set of records, the specified set of records including each record in the plurality of records having the same attribute value for the associated attribute as the associated record;
assigning an attribute combination to each task in the set of computing tasks, the attribute combination for each task including one or more attributes of the set of attributes;
assigning a subset of the plurality of records to each task in the set of computing tasks;
detecting at least one quasi-identifier by passing each task to at least one thread for execution on computing resources, the execution of each task comprising inspecting the index indicator for each attribute value in the assigned attribute combination of at least a portion of the assigned subset of the plurality of records to produce a result, the result of at least one task identifying a unique record for the associated attribute combination, the attribute values in the attribute combination for the unique record different from the attribute values in the attribute combination for all other records in the plurality of records, the at least one quasi-identifier being the attribute combination assigned to the at least one task identifying a unique record.

1 more element

A computer system for detecting quasi-identifiers in a dataset using a set of computing tasks, the dataset having a plurality of records and further having a set of attributes, each record having an attribute value for each attribute in the set of attributes, the computer system comprising a processor and a computer readable storage medium storing instructions, wherein the computer readable storage medium is not a transitory signal per se, and wherein the processor executes the instructions to perform a method comprising:

generating a first index for the dataset, the first index having an index indicator for each attribute value of each record, each index indicator specifying a set of records, the specified set of records including each record in the plurality of records having the same attribute value for the associated attribute as the associated record;
and
assigning, using a main thread, an attribute combination to each task in the set of computing tasks, the attribute combination for each task including one or more attributes of the set of attributes, the main thread further used by the processor to assign a subset of the plurality of records to each task in the set of computing tasks, and the main thread further used by the processor to detect at least one quasi-identifier by passing each task to at least one thread for execution on computing resources, the execution of each task comprising inspecting the index indicator for each attribute value in the assigned attribute combination of at least a portion of the assigned subset of the plurality of records to produce a result, the result of at least one task identifying a unique record for the associated attribute combination, the attribute values in the attribute combination for the unique record different from the attribute values in the attribute combination for all other records in the plurality of records, the at least one quasi-identifier being the attribute combination assigned to the at least one task identifying a unique record.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/719,663Filed 22 May 2015
Published: US 2016/0342636 A124 Nov 2016
Granted: 16 Jan 2018
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification4 codes

G06F 16/2228
Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures: indexing structures
G06F 9/5005
Allocation of resources, e.g. of the central processing unit [CPU]: to service a request
G06F 9/5055
The resource being a machine, e.g. CPUs, Servers, Terminals: considering software capabilities, i.e. software resources associated or available to…
G06F
Computing and data processing