Confidentiality Protection and Physical Safeguards

Abstract

Confidentiality protection is a multi-layered concept, involving statistical (cryptographic) methods and physical safeguards. When providing access to researchers (both internal to the agency and external academic), a tension arises between the level of trust vis-à-vis the researcher, the statistical disclosure limitation applied to the data visible to the researcher; and the physical access mechanisms used by the researcher. In this presentation, I (attempt to) review systems used by national and private research organizations around the world, putting them into the relevant legal and societal context.