Information Law Institute ITS Colloquium: Paul Ohm
The Information Law Institute ITS Colloquium presents a talk by Paul Ohm, Associate Professor, University of Colorado Law School. Co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Security and Privacy (CRISSP) Distinguished Speaker Series.
Date: Thursday, November 12, 2009
Time: 4:30-6:00 p.m.
Location: 245 Sullivan Street, Furman Hall, Room 212
Topic: Broken Promises of Privacy: The Limits of Anonymization and the Power of Reidentification
Abstract: Computer scientists have recently undermined our faith in the privacy-protecting power of anonymization, the name for techniques for protecting the privacy of individuals in large databases by deleting information like names and social security numbers. These scientists have demonstrated they can often ‘reidentify’ or ‘deanonymize’ individuals hidden in anonymized data with astonishing ease. By understanding this research, we will realize we have made a mistake, labored beneath a fundamental misunderstanding, which has assured us much less privacy than we have assumed. This mistake pervades nearly every information privacy law, regulation, and debate, yet regulators and legal scholars have paid it scant attention. We must respond to the surprising failure of anonymization, and this Article provides the tools to do so.
For more information about this Colloquium and the Information Law Institute, please visit: http://www.law.nyu.edu/centers/ili/colloquia/fall2009/index.htm
October 23rd 2009