Syntheticid

Syntheticid is a term used to describe a synthetic identifier created to stand in for a real person or entity within data systems. The purpose of a syntheticid is to enable data linkage and analysis while reducing the exposure of sensitive identity information. In practice, a syntheticid is intended to be non-identifying by itself, though proper controls are required to prevent re-identification through linkage with other data sources.

Construction methods for syntheticids vary. Some approaches are deterministic, meaning the same input consistently yields the same syntheticid, such as a cryptographic hash of a primary identifier with a secret salt. Others are non-deterministic, producing different values over time, such as random or pseudo-random identifiers. Tokenization and cryptographic encryption can also transform real identifiers into syntheticids while preserving the ability to map back to the original data for authorized purposes.

Applications of syntheticids include privacy-preserving data analytics, cross-system data integration, and controlled data sharing for research or commerce. They are also used in software testing and quality assurance to simulate real user data without exposing actual identities.

Security and privacy considerations are central to syntheticid design. Even with syntheticids, there remains a risk of re-identification if identifiers are combined with other data. Mitigations include strict access controls, encryption in transit and at rest, data minimization, regular audits, and clear retention and decommissioning policies. Governance concerns cover lifecycle management, such as secure mapping between syntheticids and real identities, rotation or revocation of identifiers, and compliance with data protection laws and industry standards.