CLOAKING WITH FOOTPRINTS TO PROVIDE LOCATION PRIVACY PROTECTION IN LOCATION-BASED SERVICES

摘要

A method for using a location-based service while preserving anonymity includes receiving a location associated with a mobile node, receiving an anonymity level associated with the mobile node, computing a region containing the location of the mobile node and a number of footprints based on the anonymity level, wherein each of the footprints from a different user, and providing the region to a location-based service to thereby preserve anonymity of the mobile node. A method also allow a mobile device or its user to specify the anonymity level by selecting a public region consistent with a user's feelings towards desired privacy.

主权项

1. A method for providing location-based services while preserving anonymity by continuous cloaking using footprints, the method comprising:
(a) determining a base trajectory associated with a mobile device, the base trajectory comprising at least two points; (b) determining anonymity level, K, associated with the mobile device; (c) computing a K-anonymity trajectory using the base trajectory, the anonymity level, and a set of K−1 other trajectories using a computing device, wherein the set of other trajectories includes historical trajectories comprising footprints from other mobile devices to thereby cloak time-series location samples for the mobile device; and (d) providing the K-anonymity trajectory to a location-based service used by the mobile device to thereby preserve anonymity of the mobile device and provide location privacy protection for the mobile device.