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Disclosure Detection in Multivariate Categorical Databases: Auditing Confidentiality Protection Through Two New Matrix Operators

Author

Listed:
  • Sumit Dutta Chowdhury

    (605 West View Terrace, Alexandria, Virginia 22301)

  • George T. Duncan

    (The H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213)

  • Ramayya Krishnan

    (The H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213)

  • Stephen F. Roehrig

    (The H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213)

  • Sumitra Mukherjee

    (School of Computer and Information Systems, Nova University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33315)

Abstract

As databases grow more prevalent and comprehensive, database administrators seek to limit disclosure of confidential information while still providing access to data. Practical databases accommodate users with heterogeneous needs for access. Each class of data user is accorded access to only certain views. Other views are considered confidential, and hence to be protected. Using illustrations from health care and education, this article addresses inferential disclosure of confidential views in multidimensional categorical databases. It demonstrates that any structural, so data-value-independent method for detecting disclosure can fail. Consistent with previous work for two-way tables, it presents a data-value-dependent method to obtain tight lower and upper bounds for confidential data values. For two-dimensional projections of categorical databases, it exploits the network structure of a linear programming (LP) formulation to develop two transportation flow algorithms that are both computationally efficient and insightful. These algorithms can be easily implemented through two new matrix operators, cell-maxima and cell-minima. Collectively, this method is called matrix comparative assignment (MCA). Finally, it extends both the LP and MCA approaches to inferential disclosure when accessible views have been masked.

Suggested Citation

  • Sumit Dutta Chowdhury & George T. Duncan & Ramayya Krishnan & Stephen F. Roehrig & Sumitra Mukherjee, 1999. "Disclosure Detection in Multivariate Categorical Databases: Auditing Confidentiality Protection Through Two New Matrix Operators," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(12), pages 1710-1723, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:45:y:1999:i:12:p:1710-1723
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.45.12.1710
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ram D. Gopal & Paulo B. Goes & Robert S. Garfinkel, 1998. "Interval Protection of Confidential Information in a Database," INFORMS Journal on Computing, INFORMS, vol. 10(3), pages 309-322, August.
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    1. S F Roehrig & R Padman & R Krishnan & G T Duncan, 2011. "Exact and heuristic methods for cell suppression in multi-dimensional linked tables," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 62(2), pages 291-304, February.
    2. Robert Garfinkel & Ram Gopal & Steven Thompson, 2007. "Releasing Individually Identifiable Microdata with Privacy Protection Against Stochastic Threat: An Application to Health Information," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 18(1), pages 23-41, March.
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    5. Robert Garfinkel & Ram Gopal & Paulo Goes, 2002. "Privacy Protection of Binary Confidential Data Against Deterministic, Stochastic, and Insider Threat," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(6), pages 749-764, June.
    6. Syam Menon & Sumit Sarkar, 2007. "Minimizing Information Loss and Preserving Privacy," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(1), pages 101-116, January.
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    10. Joseph B. Kadane & Ramayya Krishnan & Galit Shmueli, 2006. "A Data Disclosure Policy for Count Data Based on the COM-Poisson Distribution," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(10), pages 1610-1617, October.
    11. Xiao-Bai Li & Sumit Sarkar, 2006. "Privacy Protection in Data Mining: A Perturbation Approach for Categorical Data," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 17(3), pages 254-270, September.
    12. Buzzigoli, Lucia & Giusti, Antonio, 2006. "From Marginals to Array Structure with the Shuttle Algorithm," MPRA Paper 49245, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Haibing Lu & Jaideep Vaidya & Vijayalakshmi Atluri & Yingjiu Li, 2015. "Statistical Database Auditing Without Query Denial Threat," INFORMS Journal on Computing, INFORMS, vol. 27(1), pages 20-34, February.

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