A scheme for privacy-preserving data dissemination

Abstract

An adequate level of trust must be established between prospective partners before an interaction can begin. In asymmetric trust relationships, one of the interacting partners is stronger. The weaker partner can gain a higher level of trust by disclosing private information. Dissemination of sensitive data owned by the weaker partner starts at this moment. The stronger partner can propagate data to others, who may then choose to spread data further. The proposed scheme for privacy-preserving data dissemination enables control of data by their owner (such as a weaker partner). It relies on the ideas of bundling sensitive data with metadata, an apoptosis of endangered bundles, and an adaptive evaporation of bundles in suspect environments. Possible applications include interactions among patients and healthcare providers, customers and businesses, researchers, and suppliers of their raw data. They will contribute to providing privacy guarantees, which are indispensable for the realization of the promise of pervasive computing