Re: How to make data unidentifiable?

Sybrand Bakker <sybrandb_at_hccnet.nl> wrote in message news:<2stec0ptn1k69cis0oflalr79osnkcttdj_at_4ax.com>...
> On 9 Jun 2004 10:00:49 -0700, j_parrinello_at_msn.com (Joseph) wrote:
>
> >Hello,
> >
> >I am building a database to be used for demonstration purposes. I wish to
> >import the data from an existing database into the demo. However I need to
> >tranform the data from the existing database so that the data is
> >unidentifiable but meaningful. For example, I need to change the First
> >name, Last name, Address, city, state, zip, Social Security etc...so that
> >they are different to the original database but still have meaning in the
> >new database. E.g. A record such as:
> >
> >Peter Paulas, 123 Main St, New York, New York, 10023, 555-342-3423
> >becomes something like:
> >Simon Trickle, 234 East St, Bronx, New York, 10023, 534-234-2333
> >
> >I would like the transformed record: Simon Trickle, to still be linked to
> >the remaining data that is not tranformed. Has anybody tried this before
> >and if so, do you have any easy solution.
> >
> >Thanks,
> >Joseph
>
>
> Oracle supplies a dbms_obfuscation_toolkit for this very purpose.

Thanks for the input. Even though I have never used the Obfuscation toolkit, it appears that Obfuscation simply encrypts the data. Instead, I want to transform the data (i.e. only some fields in all rows), so that the transformed data can no longer be indentifiable to an actual person, however the data still has meaning. So say for example:

sql> desc name

 Name

 ID             CHAR(12)
 FIRST_NAME     VARCHAR2(30)        
 LAST_NAME      VARCHAR2(30)
 SOCIAL_SEC     CHAR(9)

After I "transform" the data in this table, for each row in the table, the ID stays the same. However the FIRST_NAME, LAST_NAME and SOCIAL_SEC would be changed to a different FIRST_NAME, LAST_NAME and SOCIAL_SEC. Simply, jumbling the letters or encrypting each field won't do because I want the data to remain meaningful (i.e. the transformed FIRST_NAME is still a real first name). Does this make sense? Maybe what I am trying is impossible?? Received on Thu Jun 10 2004 - 08:03:04 CDT