Protecting network entity data while preserving network properties

• US 8,346,774 B1
• Filed: 08/08/2011
• Issued: 01/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kanevsky, Dimitri, Pickover, Clifford A., Sainath, Tara N., Kozloski, James R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Coby, Frantz
• Application Number:
  US13/204,831
• Time in Patent Office: 512 Days
• Field of Search: 707600-601, 707/711, 707/737, 707/759, 707/769, 709/205
• US Class Current: 707/737
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24526 Internal representations for queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24561 Intermediate data storage techniques for performance improvement
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes

Abstract

In one exemplary embodiment, a storage medium embodying a program of instructions for performing operations including: storing raw information for primary properties of primary nodes within a primary network; in response to receiving a query, transforming the raw information into transformed information using key(s) and based on the query, the query is in relation to a queried property, the transformed information is transformed data for the queried property, the transformed information represents a surrogate network having surrogate nodes corresponding to a portion of the primary nodes, the transformed information enables performance of operation(s) without specific knowledge of and without revealing the entirety, the transformed information further enables one having the key(s) to relate an output of the operation to the raw information; and generating a solution that relates a transformed query to the transformed information, the transformed query is a transformed representation of the query obtained by using the key(s).

Claims

1. A computer readable storage medium tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine for performing operations comprising:

storing raw information for at least one primary property of at least one primary node within a primary network, where the primary network is comprised of an interconnected plurality of primary nodes, where connections among the plurality of primary nodes within the primary network are based on at least one of the at least one primary property and one or more types of relationships and interdependencies between the primary nodes;

in response to receiving a query on the stored raw information, transforming the stored raw information into transformed information using at least one key and based on the received query, where the received query is in relation to at least one queried property of the at least one primary property, where the transformed information comprises transformed data for the at least one queried property of the at least one primary node, where the transformed information is representative of a surrogate network comprising a plurality of surrogate nodes that correspond to at least a portion of the plurality of primary nodes from the primary network, where the transformed information does not correspond to an entirety of the stored raw information, where the transformed information is configured to enable performance of at least one operation on the transformed information without specific knowledge of and without revealing the entirety of the stored raw information, where the transformed information is further configured to enable one in possession of the at least one key to relate an output of the at least one operation to the stored raw information; and

generating a solution that relates a transformed query to the transformed information, where the transformed query comprises a transformed representation of the received query obtained by using the at least one key.

2. The computer readable storage medium as in claim 1, where the solution comprises a sparse representation.

3. The computer readable storage medium as in claim 1, where the network comprises a social network or an online social network.

4. The computer readable storage medium as in claim 1, where the at least one operation is performed by a third party who does not have access to the at least one key.

5. The computer readable storage medium as in claim 1, where the at least one operation is performed by an untrusted third party who does not have access to the at least one key.

6. The computer readable storage medium as in claim 1, where the surrogate network uses at least one different basis than the primary network for connections between the surrogate nodes.

7. The computer readable storage medium as in claim 1, where each primary node corresponds to an entity of a plurality of entities.

8. The computer readable storage medium as in claim 1, where each primary node corresponds to a different entity of a plurality of entities.

9. The computer readable storage medium as in claim 1, where each primary node corresponds to an entity of a plurality of entities and where each entity of the plurality of entities comprises one of:

one or more persons, one or more organizations, one or more companies, one or more healthcare professionals, one or more marketers, one or more demographers, one or more job seekers, or one or more job suppliers.

10. The computer readable storage medium as in claim 1, where the raw information and at least one key are stored by a network operator overseeing the primary network.

11. The computer readable storage medium as in claim 1, where only the network operator has access to the at least one key.

12. The computer readable storage medium as in claim 1, where the transformed information is further configured to enable performance of the at least one operation on the transformed information without access to the entirety of the stored raw information.

13. The computer readable storage medium as in claim 1, where the transformation operates to remove, replace or mask others of the at least one primary property that are not relevant to the at least one queried property.

14. A method comprising:

storing raw information for at least one primary property of at least one primary node within a primary network, where the primary network is comprised of an interconnected plurality of primary nodes, where connections among the plurality of primary nodes within the primary network are based on at least one of the at least one primary property and one or more types of relationships and interdependencies between the primary nodes;

in response to receiving a query on the stored raw information, transforming the stored raw information into transformed information using at least one key and based on the received query, where the received query is in relation to at least one queried property of the at least one primary property, where the transformed information comprises transformed data for the at least one queried property of the at least one primary node, where the transformed information is representative of a surrogate network comprising a plurality of surrogate nodes that correspond to at least a portion of the plurality of primary nodes from the primary network, where the transformed information does not correspond to an entirety of the stored raw information, where the transformed information is configured to enable performance of at least one operation on the transformed information without specific knowledge of and without revealing the entirety of the stored raw information, where the transformed information is further configured to enable one in possession of the at least one key to relate an output of the at least one operation to the stored raw information; and

generating a solution that relates a transformed query to the transformed information, where the transformed query comprises a transformed representation of the received query obtained by using the at least one key.

15. The method as in claim 14, where the solution comprises a sparse representation.

16. The method as in claim 14, where the network comprises a social network or an online social network.

17. The method as in claim 14, where each primary node corresponds to an entity of a plurality of entities and where each entity of the plurality of entities comprises one of:

one or more persons, one or more organizations, one or more companies, one or more healthcare professionals, one or more marketers, one or more demographers, one or more job seekers, or one or more job suppliers.

18. The method as in claim 14, where the transformation operates to remove, replace or mask others of the at least one primary property that are not relevant to the at least one queried property.

19. An apparatus comprising:

at least one memory configured to store raw information for at least one primary property of at least one primary node within a primary network, where the primary network is comprised of an interconnected plurality of primary nodes, where connections among the plurality of primary nodes within the primary network are based on at least one of the at least one primary property and one or more types of relationships and interdependencies between the primary nodes; and

at least one processor configured, in response to receiving a query on the stored raw information, to transform the stored raw information into transformed information using at least one key and based on the received query, where the received query is in relation to at least one queried property of the at least one primary property, where the transformed information comprises transformed data for the at least one queried property of the at least one primary node, where the transformed information is representative of a surrogate network comprising a plurality of surrogate nodes that correspond to at least a portion of the plurality of primary nodes from the primary network, where the transformed information does not correspond to an entirety of the stored raw information, where the transformed information is configured to enable performance of at least one operation on the transformed information without specific knowledge of and without revealing the entirety of the stored raw information, where the transformed information is further configured to enable one in possession of the at least one key to relate an output of the at least one operation to the stored raw information,

where the at least one processor is further configured to generate a solution that relates a transformed query to the transformed information, where the transformed query comprises a transformed representation of the received query obtained by using the at least one key.

20. The apparatus as in claim 19, where the solution comprises a sparse representation.

21. The apparatus as in claim 19, where the network comprises a social network or an online social network.

22. The apparatus as in claim 19, where each primary node corresponds to an entity of a plurality of entities and where each entity of the plurality of entities comprises one of:

one or more persons, one or more organizations, one or more companies, one or more healthcare professionals, one or more marketers, one or more demographers, one or more job seekers, or one or more job suppliers.

23. An apparatus comprising:

means for storing raw information for at least one primary property of at least one primary node within a primary network, where the primary network is comprised of an interconnected plurality of primary nodes, where connections among the plurality of primary nodes within the primary network are based on at least one of the at least one primary property and one or more types of relationships and interdependencies between the primary nodes;

means, responsive to receiving a query on the stored raw information, for transforming the stored raw information into transformed information using at least one key and based on the received query, where the received query is in relation to at least one queried property of the at least one primary property, where the transformed information comprises transformed data for the at least one queried property of the at least one primary node, where the transformed information is representative of a surrogate network comprising a plurality of surrogate nodes that correspond to at least a portion of the plurality of primary nodes from the primary network, where the transformed information does not correspond to an entirety of the stored raw information, where the transformed information is configured to enable performance of at least one operation on the transformed information without specific knowledge of and without revealing the entirety of the stored raw information, where the transformed information is further configured to enable one in possession of the at least one key to relate an output of the at least one operation to the stored raw information; and

means for generating a solution that relates a transformed query to the transformed information, where the transformed query comprises a transformed representation of the received query obtained by using the at least one key.

24. The apparatus as in claim 23, where the solution comprises a sparse representation.

25. The apparatus as in claim 23, where the means for storing comprises at least one memory or at least one computer-readable storage medium and where the means for transforming and the means for generating comprise at least one processor or at least one integrated circuit.