Security News > 2021 > January > Researchers develop tool that ensures secure sensitive data sharing

A data privacy tool has been developed to help ensure key datasets - such as those tracking COVID-19 - can be publicly shared with an extra layer of security for sensitive personal information.

Developed as a collaboration between CSIRO's Data61, the digital specialist arm of Australia's national science agency, the NSW Government, the Australian Computer Society and several other groups, the privacy tool assesses the risks to an individual's data within any dataset; allowing targeted and effective protection mechanisms to be put in place.

The early version of the tool is already being used by the NSW Government to analyse datasets tracking the spread of COVID-19 in the state since March 2020 and apply appropriate levels of protection before this data is released as open data.

Project lead researcher and Senior Research Scientist at CSIRO's Data61, Dr Sushmita Ruj, said new methods of data de-identification can provide enhanced levels of data privacy and ensure data involving personal information is protected.

"Data analysis is well understood but how good the output is once shared is very difficult to understand. Hence, the metrics-based approach and analysis that underpins PIF is hugely valuable in achieving the ethical and responsible sharing of critical data, with this technology allowing data owners to fully assess the risks and residual impacts associated with data sharing."

The PIF tool is also being used to examine other data sets before public release in areas such as domestic violence data collected during the COVID-19 lockdown and public transport usage.

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