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Why Anonymized Data Isn't
Ars has a review of recent research, and a summary of the history, in the field of reidentification — identifying people from anonymized data. Paul Ohm's recent paper is an elaboration of what Ohm terms a central reality of data collection: "Data can either be useful or perfectly anonymous but never both." "...in 2000, [researcher Latanya Sweeney] showed that 87 percent of all Americans could be uniquely identified using only three bits of information: ZIP code, birthdate, and sex. ... For almost every person on earth, there is at least one fact about them stored in a computer database that an adversary could use to blackmail, discriminate against, harass, or steal the identity of him or her. I mean more than mere embarrassment or inconvenience; I mean legally cognizable harm. ... Reidentification science disrupts the privacy policy landscape by undermining the faith that we have placed in anonymization."
Great, another Ohm's law to learn.
Holy hell forget about that anonymized data crap, I want to learn how she can compress that much data into three bits!
I just put "No" under sex. I like to tell the truth. Not sure how it helps on the ID end though.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
I put "please!" and it doesnt seem to help either.
Yes you are. I always put put 90210. Phone number 867-5309. If anyone tries to find me, they're at least going to have that song stuck in their head and recall with disgust the shows they watched in the early 90's. Hopefully that will demoralize them enough to give up.
I once gave a gamestop employee my zip as 12345. He say "its ok if you don't want to give it." My reply was the no, I am from Schenectady, NY.