Maintaining privacy during user profiling

• US 8,520,842 B2
• Filed: 01/07/2010
• Issued: 08/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Nice, Nir, Wieder, Ehud, Feldbaum, Boaz, Ophir, Sefy, Yacobi, Yacov, Friedman, Arie, Shamir, Eran
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, CHAU D
• Application Number:
  US12/683,586
• Publication Number:
  US 20110164746A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,328 Days
• Field of Search: 380/28, 380/30, 726 4- 6, 726 26- 30, 713/185, 709223-230
• US Class Current: 380/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6263 during internet communication, e.g. revealing personal data from cookies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/84 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0442 wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply asymmetric encryption, i.e. different keys for encryption and decryption cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for public-key encryption H04L9/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/30 Public key, i.e. encryption algorithm being computationally infeasible to invert or user's encryption keys not requiring secrecy

Abstract

Systems, methods, and computer storage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that maintain privacy during user profiling are provided. A profiling service receives, from a first device, rules for profiling a user. The rules were encrypted using a private key. The profiling service also receives, from a second device, user data. The user data was encrypted using a public key communicated to the second device by the first device. The profiling service then matches the encrypted rules with the encrypted user data, and based on the matching, generates a profile for the user. In embodiments, such a user profile can be utilized to deliver personalized digital content to a user.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable device storing computer-useable instructions that, when used by one or more computing devices, causes the one or more computing devices to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving, from a first device, one or more rules for profiling a user, where the one or more rules were encrypted using a private key, where encrypting the one or more rules using a private key comprises creating one or more corresponding trapdoors for each of the one or more rules using a private key and building an encrypted rule for each of the one or more rules by replacing each of the one or more rules with the one or more corresponding trapdoors;

receiving, from a second device, user data, where the user data was encrypted using a public key and a random number communicated to the second device by the first device;

matching the encrypted one or more rules with the encrypted user data; and

based on the matching the encrypted one or more rules with the encrypted user data, generating a profile for the user.

2. The one or more computer-readable device of claim 1, wherein the first device generates the one or more rules for profiling a user based on user profile definitions.

3. The one or more computer-readable device of claim 1, wherein generating a profile for the user comprises matching the one or more trapdoors of the encrypted rules with the encrypted user data using a pairwise function.

4. The one or more computer-readable device of claim 1, wherein the one or more corresponding trapdoors for each of the one or more rules has one or more of a finite lifespan and a defined domain name associated with the one or more corresponding trapdoors.

5. The one or more computer-readable device of claim 1, wherein the first device received the one or more rules from a third device that generated the one or more rules.

6. The one or more computer-readable device of claim 5, wherein the third device encrypts the one or more rules using a second private key and the first device encrypts the one or more rules using the private key.

7. The one or more computer-readable device of claim 6, wherein the first device generates the public key based on a first part of the public key received from the third device.

8. The one or more computer-readable device of claim 1, wherein the user data is encrypted using the public key by encrypting a data label of the user data and keeping a value of the user data clear.

9. The one or more computer-readable device of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises receiving false data values with the user data received from the second device.

10. One or more computer-readable device storing computer-useable instructions that, when used by one or more computing devices, causes the one or more computing devices to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving, from a first device, one or more encrypted rules for profiling a user, where the one or more rules were generated by the first device based on one or more profile definitions created by the first device and encrypted by the first device using a private key to create trapdoors for the one or more rules that were being encrypted;

receiving, from a second device, encrypted user data from a user, where the user data was encrypted using a random number and a public key communicated to the second device by the first device;

matching the one or more encrypted rules with the encrypted user data using a pairwise function; and

based on the matching the one or more encrypted rules with the encrypted user data, generating a profile for the user.

11. A method executed by one or more computing devices, the method comprising:

receiving, from a first device, one or more rules for profiling a user, where the one or more rules were encrypted using a private key, where encrypting the one or more rules using a private key comprises creating one or more corresponding trapdoors for each of the one or more rules using a private key and building an encrypted rule for each of the one or more rules by replacing each of the one or more rules with the one or more corresponding trapdoors;

receiving, from a second device, user data, where the user data was encrypted using a public key and a random number communicated to the second device by the first device;

matching the encrypted one or more rules with the encrypted user data; and

based on the matching the encrypted one or more rules with the encrypted user data, generating a profile for the user.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first device generates the one or more rules for profiling a user based on user profile definitions.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein generating a profile for the user comprises matching the one or more trapdoors of the encrypted rules with the encrypted user data using a pairwise function.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more corresponding trapdoors for each of the one or more rules has one or more of a finite lifespan and a defined domain name associated with the one or more corresponding trapdoors.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the first device received the one or more rules from a third device that generated the one or more rules.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the third device encrypts the one or more rules using a second private key and the first device encrypts the one or more rules using the private key.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first device generates the public key based on a first part of the public key received from the third device.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the user data is encrypted using the public key by encrypting a data label of the user data and keeping a value of the user data clear.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises receiving false data values with the user data received from the second device.

20. A method executed by one or more computing devices, the method comprising:

receiving, from a first device, one or more encrypted rules for profiling a user, where the one or more rules were generated by the first device based on one or more profile definitions created by the first device and encrypted by the first device using a private key to create trapdoors for the one or more rules that were being encrypted;

receiving, from a second device, encrypted user data from a user, where the user data was encrypted using a random number and a public key communicated to the second device by the first device;

matching the one or more encrypted rules with the encrypted user data using a pairwise function; and

based on the matching the one or more encrypted rules with the encrypted user data, generating a profile for the user.