Deidentification

De-identification is a way for organizations to remove personal information from data that they collect, use, archive, and share with other organizations. De-identification is not a single technique, but a collection of approaches, algorithms, and tools that can be applied to different kinds of data with differing levels of effectiveness. Privacy protection improves as more aggressive de-identification techniques are employed, but less utility remains in the dataset. 
 

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is conducting research and developing documents in the area of de-identification. This page summarizes our work and current projects.

NIST FY2016 Projects in De-Identification 

• Government Data De-Identification Stakeholders Forum, 2016-JUN-29 at NIST
• "De-Identifying Government Data," NIST working paper in development
• De-Identification Software Evaluation, Pilot Study, Summer 2016

Past Efforts — Materials Available

• "NISTIR 8053: De-Identification of Personal Information," Interagency Report, October 2015

Presentations

• 2016-03-07: "Tech Tuesday" training slides
• 2016-03-24: De-Identification and Re-Identification
• 2016-04-21: Statement delivered to the Open Police Data Initiatives and the Impact on Victims of Intimate Partner Violence 
   
• 2016-05-24: Testimony on "De-Identification and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)", Subcommittee on Privacy, Confidentiality & Security, National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics