t-Closeness
A privacy model requiring that the distribution of a sensitive attribute within any equivalence class is close to the distribution in the overall dataset, measured by the Earth Mover's Distance.
In plain language
A privacy protection method that prevents attackers from narrowing down a person's private details. It ensures that if you look at any group in the data, the patterns of sensitive information look similar to the overall population.
Why this matters
T-closeness is a technical control in the privacy-by-design toolkit. It strengthens data anonymisation beyond simpler methods, reducing inference risk in datasets. For organisations managing sensitive information under the Privacy Act, t-closeness provides a defensible technical standard for data de-identification.
Relevance
ImplementationOffers a formal privacy model to protect against attribute inference attacks, supporting defensible data anonymisation in regulated environments.
Related terms
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