Microdata protection through approximate microaggregation

Microdata protection is a hot topic in the field of Statistical Disclosure Control, which has gained special interest after the disclosure of 658000 queries by the America Online (AOL) search engine in August 2006. Many algorithms, methods and properties have been proposed to deal with microdata disclosure. One of the emerging concepts in microdata protection is k-anonymity, introduced by Samarati and Sweeney. k-anonymity provides a simple and efficient approach to protect private individual information and is gaining increasing popularity. k-anonymity requires that every record in the microdata table released be indistinguishably related to no fewer than k respondents. In this paper, we apply the concept of entropy to propose a distance metric to evaluate the amount of mutual information among records in microdata, and propose a method of constructing dependency tree to find the key attributes, which we then use to process approximate microaggregation. Further, we adopt this new microaggregation technique to study $k$-anonymity problem, and an efficient algorithm is developed. Experimental results show that the proposed microaggregation technique is efficient and effective in the terms of running time and information loss

An Approach to Guide Users Towards Less Revealing Internet Browsers

When browsing the Internet, HTTP headers enable both clients and servers send extra data in their requests or responses such as the User-Agent string. This string contains information related to the sender’s device, browser, and operating system. Previous research has shown that there are numerous privacy and security risks result from exposing sensitive information in the User-Agent string. For example, it enables device and browser fingerprinting and user tracking and identification. Our large analysis of thousands of User-Agent strings shows that browsers differ tremendously in the amount of information they include in their User-Agent strings. As such, our work aims at guiding users towards using less exposing browsers. In doing so, we propose to assign an exposure score to browsers based on the information they expose and vulnerability records. Thus, our contribution in this work is as follows: first, provide a full implementation that is ready to be deployed and used by users. Second, conduct a user study to identify the effectiveness and limitations of our proposed approach. Our implementation is based on using more than 52 thousand unique browsers. Our performance and validation analysis show that our solution is accurate and efficient. The source code and data set are publicly available and the solution has been deployed

The Role of General Practitioners in Disaster Health Management

Disasters are a time of excess demand for medical care overwhelming available medical services. General Practitioners (GPs) are local healthcare professionals already onsite managing the ongoing health of the majority of the community when disaster strikes. They are a medical resource, knowledgeable about the local community context, and remain to share the journey of adaptation and recovery with their local community in the days to years of aftermath. Early observations at commencement of this research demonstrated that whether GPs chose to or not, as local community health professionals they will be involved in some way in any disaster that strikes their community either during, and/or after the event. In most countries, including Australia, GPs are excluded from disaster response systems. The research aim was to identify the role of GPs in disaster health management, and to propose a system of involvement that aligns with: - the epidemiological evidence of disaster healthcare needs relevant to GPs, - the perceptions of GPs and Disaster Managers (DM) experts, and - the current All Hazards All Agencies Prevention-Preparedness-Response-Recovery (PPRR) international framework of disaster management The first study was a systematic literature review utilising PRISMA guidelines to categorise the epidemiology of physical health consequences of disasters relevant to GPs. Following this the thesis reports a series of three qualitative studies employing a constructivist grounded theory approach: two using semi-structured interviews, and one using a focus group, with disaster-experienced GPs and DMs. These studies explored barriers and facilitators to inclusion of GPs and investigated current and future roles. Research findings led to a conceptual representation for future integration of GPs, utilising the PPRR framework. Ultimately the thesis proposes a strategy for integration of GPs into existing disaster health management systems that addresses some of the barriers highlighted by the research, and elucidates the roles of GPs. The researchers sought to synthesise the emerging knowledge and facilitate implementation by key stakeholders with the intention of closing the gap between what is known and what is practiced. Findings were disseminated as per Graham's Knowledge to Action framework. Key outputs were enacted through peer-reviewed journal publications, textbook sections, guidelines for a broad range of practitioners, presentations internationally and nationally, policy revision through professional committee memberships, and advocacy for GP involvement at international, national, and local levels. To manage the challenges of disasters, countries require a resilient healthcare system that maximises capacity of all levels of local health resources, accommodates the surge in demand, and continues to sustain the local health services response in the aftermath. Comprehensive, people-focused coordination & continuity of care has the potential to improve the holistic health outcomes of disaster-affected people. Examination of the evidence from this doctorate suggests clear roles for GPs in disaster healthcare across all phases of disasters, with sustained contributions over the recovery. A knowledge of the temporal epidemiological patterns of health effects provides an opportunity for surveillance for emerging conditions over time, prevention of deterioration of existing conditions, and promotion of patient preparedness for future events, all roles within the usual realm of General Practice healthcare. An important element of GP integration is ongoing research on disaster healthcare needs presenting to GPs to continue to evaluate, justify and support ongoing GP involvement. The future challenge is to change the focus of disaster health management to person-centred healthcare integrated across all levels of usual healthcare, including evidence-based General Practice primary care contributions