Patent ID: 8407246

Claim:
A data anonymity measuring device for selectively transmitting an anonymized database to a third party comprising: a calculation unit ( 402 ), implemented by a processor and coupled to at least one memory ( 204 , 206 ), the memory storing an original database and said anonymized database separate and distinct from the original database, said calculation unit arranged to calculate conditional entropy (h(s)) for each entry in said anonymized database according to: h ⁡ ( s ) = - ∑ r ∈ R ⁢ P ⁡ ( r | s ) ⁢ log 2 ⁢ P ⁡ ( r | s ) wherein r is an entry in the original database, R represents all of the entries in the original database, s is an entry in the anonymized database, and P(r|s) is the probability of r given s; a comparator ( 406 ) arranged to compare at least one of said conditional entropies with a threshold value; and an output unit ( 410 ) arranged to transmit said anonymized database based on the result of said comparison.