DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Reporting Fail: The Reidentification of Personal Genome Project Participants

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Dissent

The issue of how easy – or difficult – it might be to re-identify “de-identified” data is crucial to discussions of using PHI in research. Jane Yakowitz writes:

Last week, a Forbes article by Adam Tanner announced that a research team led by Latanya Sweeney had re-identified “more than 40% of a sample of anonymous participants” in Harvard’s Personal Genome Project. Sweeney is a progenitor of demonstration attack research. Her research was extremely influential during the design of HIPAA, and I have both praised and criticized her work before.

Right off the bat, Tanner’s article is misleading. From the headline, a reader would assume that research participants were re-identified using their genetic sequence. And the “40% of a sample” line suggests that Sweeney had re-identified 40% of arandom sample. Neither of these assumptions is correct. Even using the words “re-identified” and “anonymous” is improvident. Yet the misinformation has proliferated, with rounding up to “nearly half” or “97%.”

Here’s what actually happened:

Read more on Info/Law.

No related posts.

Category: Uncategorized

Post navigation

← Insurer Sues To Duck $1M Patient Data Breach Settlement
Official MSI Taiwan Hacked 50,000 Accounts & Other Data leaked, Sites Defaced →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Texas Centers for Infectious Disease Associates Notifies Individuals of Data Breach in 2024
  • Battlefords Union Hospitals notifies patients of employee snooping in their records
  • Alert: Scattered Spider has added North American airline and transportation organizations to their target list
  • Northern Light Health patients affected by security incident at Compumedics; 10 healthcare entities affected
  • Privacy commissioner reviewing reported Ontario Health atHome data breach
  • CMS warns Medicare providers of fraud scheme
  • Ex-student charged with wave of cyber attacks on Sydney uni
  • Detaining Hackers Before the Crime? Tamil Nadu’s Supreme Court Approves Preventive Custody for Cyber Offenders
  • Potential Cyberattack Scrambles Columbia University Computer Systems
  • 222,000 customer records allegedly from Manhattan Parking Group leaked

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • Germany Wants Apple, Google to Remove DeepSeek From Their App Stores
  • Supreme Court upholds Texas law requiring age verification on porn sites
  • Justices nix Medicaid ‘right’ to choose doctor, defunding Planned Parenthood in South Carolina
  • European Commission publishes its plan to enable more effective law enforcement access to data
  • Sacred Secrets: The Biblical Case for Privacy and Data Protection
  • Microsoft’s Departing Privacy Chief Calls for Regulator Outreach
  • Nestle USA Settles Suit Over Job-Application Medical Questions

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.