Pseudonymiserade

Pseudonymiserade is a Swedish term that translates to "pseudonymized" in English, referring to a data processing method used to enhance privacy and data security. Pseudonymization involves replacing identifiable information within a dataset with artificial identifiers or pseudonyms, making it difficult to directly link the data to specific individuals without additional information.

The primary purpose of pseudonymisation is to protect individual privacy while preserving the utility of the data for analysis, research, or operational purposes. It is often employed in compliance with data protection regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union, which encourages practices that minimize the risk of re-identification.

In practice, pseudonymisation can involve techniques like encrypting personal identifiers or substituting them with coded values. Unlike anonymization, which aims to irreversibly remove identifying features, pseudonymization retains a reversible link to the original data through secure key management. This allows authorized entities to re-identify data when necessary, such as for medical research or administrative processes, under strict controls.

Pseudonymiserade data is commonly used in healthcare, financial services, and other sectors where sensitive personal information is handled. While it reduces the risk of privacy breaches, it does not eliminate all risks, as re-identification can still be possible with sufficient auxiliary information or advanced data analysis techniques.

Overall, pseudonymisation balances data utility and privacy protection, enabling organizations to process personal data responsibly while complying with legal requirements for safeguarding individual information.