US Patent 10424406 Methods and systems for watermarking of anonymized datasets

A method includes receiving an initial dataset. Each record of the initial dataset comprises a set of quasi-identifier attributes and a set of non-quasi-identifier attributes. A processor assigns a link identifier to each record and replaces each set of quasi-identifier attributes with a range to form a generalized set. The processor removes duplicate records based on identical generalized sets to generate de-duplicated records. The processor generates a randomized record by replacing the generalized set of each de-duplicated record with a corresponding set of random values. The processor passes the set of random values of each randomized record through multiple hash functions to generate multiple outputs. The multiple outputs are mapped to a Bloom filter. The processor forms a dataset by combining each randomized record with one or more sets of non-quasi-identifier attributes. The set of random values is a fingerprint for a corresponding record of the dataset.