Anonymisation

Anonymisation is the process of completely transforming data so that it is no longer possible to identify a specific person, even with additional information. This can be achieved by using special techniques and tools to ensure that the data are permanently transformed.

Data anonymisation is a complex process because it is necessary to ensure that the link between the data and a specific person is completely broken and cannot be re-established. It is essential to have a good knowledge of your data set and to be able to assess the potential risks of re-identification. For example, it is possible that individual data by themselves may not identify a person, but in combination may form a unique set of data that makes re-identification possible.

The main methods for anonymising data:

• Data deletion
• Generalisation of data
• Microaggregation
• Data mixing
• Adding noise