Semantic and Statistical Linkability (A05)

• Subject Area: Security and Dependability, Operating-, Communication- and Distributed Systems
• Term: from 2016 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 272573906

Identity linkability across platforms (e.g., identifying a user in an anonymous health discussion forum) is one of the biggest online privacy threats. We will devise a framework and tool support for its analysis and address the questions of: how to characterize linkability risks; how to automatically analyze the risk at stake for a particular user; and how to best protect the user without affecting functionality. We will devise a privacy measure that assesses a user`s ability to hide amongst his or her peers. We will investigate natural language text, visual data, and network traffic as sources of linkability. We will devise guided protection mechanisms, in particular by automated re-phrasing and targeted (and hence cost-effective) anonymization.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1223: Methods and Tools for Understanding and Controlling Privacy
• Applicant Institution: Universität des Saarlandes
• Co-Applicant Institution: Max-Planck-Institut für Informatik
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Michael Backes; Professor Dr. Gerhard Weikum