Pseudonymization
Pseudonymization is a privacy technique that involves replacing or encrypting personally identifiable information (PII) in a dataset with artificial identifiers or pseudonyms. This process allows data to be used for various purposes without directly identifying individuals.
Example #1
For instance, replacing a person's name with a unique code in a healthcare database while keeping a separate table linking the codes to the actual names.
Example #2
Encrypting email addresses in a marketing database with a random string of characters to protect the privacy of individuals.
Misuse
Misuse of pseudonymization could occur if the linking information that connects the pseudonyms to the original identifiers is compromised. This could lead to re-identification of individuals, violating their privacy and potentially causing harm.
Benefits
Pseudonymization helps enhance privacy protection by reducing the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive information. It enables organizations to analyze data for research or business purposes while minimizing the exposure of personal details.
Conclusion
It is crucial to implement pseudonymization properly to safeguard privacy and prevent potential data breaches. Consumers and employees benefit from this practice as it provides an added layer of security to their personal information.
Related Terms
Personally Identifiable Information (PII)Data Anonymization