Analysis of Risks to Data Privacy for Family Units in Many Countries

Abstract

Ground-breaking research by Sweeney a number of years ago demonstrated the vulnerability of personal information that can be relatively easily discovered, allowing a malicious attacker or hacker to be able to recover sensitive information about an individual. In particular, the Sweeney research showed that close to 90% of the individuals in the United States can be identified uniquely using only three easily discoverable data points: postal code, gender, and birthdate including year. Our current research has shown that in most United Nation member countries, including the United States, almost 90% of family units at the same residence can be identified uniquely using only two easily found data points: postal code and birthdate including year of one family member.