Deriving signal location information and removing other information

Abstract

The invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for deriving signal location information removing private information. A privacy infrastructure can apply data privacy operations to identified information prior to, during, or after any of signal ingestion, event detection, or event notification. A raw signal is ingested. A partially normalized signal is derived from the raw signal. A list of one or more geo cells where the raw signal potentially originated is accessed. A location annotation identifying a geo cell from among the one or more geo cells can be formulated. The partially normalized signal is annotated with the location annotation. In one aspect, deriving the partially normalized signal includes identifying information contained within the raw signal. At least one data privacy operation is applied to the identified information. The partially normalized signal is generated subsequent to applying the at least one data privacy operation.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 ingesting a raw signal;   identifying information contained within the raw signal deemed inappropriate for propagation;   deriving a partially normalized signal from the raw signal, the partially normalized signal including:
 the identified information; and 
 at least one of: a time dimension or a context dimension; 
   applying a data privacy operation to the identified information in the partially normalized signal obscuring the identified information in the partially normalized signal;   accessing a list of one or more geo cells where the raw signal potentially originated;   annotating the modified partially normalized signal with a location annotation identifying a geo cell from among the one or more geo cells; and   utilizing the at least one of: the time dimension or the context dimension along with the location annotation forming a normalized signal obscuring the identified information.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein applying the data privacy operation comprises applying the data privacy operation permanently eliminating the identified information. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein applying the data privacy operation comprises applying a cryptographic operation to the identified information. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying the information contained within the raw signal comprises identifying one or more of: confidential information, patient information, personally identifiable information (PII), personal health information (PHI), sensitive personal information (SPI), or Payment Card Industry information (PCI). 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein applying the data privacy operation to the identified information comprises applying the data privacy operation to the identified one or more of: confidential information, patient information, personally identifiable information (PII), personal health information (PHI), sensitive personal information (SPI), or Payment Card Industry information (PCI). 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein applying the data privacy operation to the identified information comprises temporarily obscuring the identified information. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein deriving the partially normalized signal from the raw signal comprises:
 submitting a region to location services;   receiving a region ID corresponding to the region from the location services; and   inserting the region ID into the partially normalized signal.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein accessing the list of one or more geo cells where the raw signal potentially originated comprises:
 recognizing a named entity in content of the raw signal;   querying a geo cell database with the named entity; and   receiving the list of one or more geo cells from the geo cell database.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein ingesting the raw signal comprises ingesting one of: a social signal, a web signal, or a streaming signal. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising formulating the location annotation in view of a probability the raw signal originated within the geo cell. 
     
     
         11 . A computer system comprising:
 a processor;   system memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions configured to cause the processor to:
 ingest a raw signal; 
 identify information contained within the raw signal deemed inappropriate for propagation; 
 derive a partially normalized signal from the raw signal, the partially normalized signal including:
 the identified information; and 
 at least one of: a time dimension or a context dimension; 
 
 apply a data privacy operation to the identified information in the partially normalized signal obscuring the identified information in the partially normalized signal; 
 access a list of one or more geo cells where the raw signal potentially originated; 
 annotate the modified partially normalized signal with a location annotation identifying a geo cell from among the one or more geo cells; and 
 utilize the at least one of: the time dimension or the context dimension along with the location annotation forming a normalized signal obscuring the identified information. 
   
     
     
         12 . The computer system of  claim 11 , wherein the instructions configured to apply the data privacy operation comprise instructions configured to apply the data privacy operation permanently eliminating the identified information. 
     
     
         13 . The computer system of  claim 11 , wherein the instructions configured to apply a data privacy operation comprise instructions configured to apply a cryptographic operation to the identified information. 
     
     
         14 . The computer system of  claim 11 , wherein the instructions configured to identify the information contained within the raw signal comprise instructions configured to identify one or more of: confidential information, patient information, personally identifiable information (PII), personal health information (PHI), sensitive personal information (SPI), or Payment Card Industry information (PCI). 
     
     
         15 . The computer system of  claim 14 , wherein the instructions configured to apply the data privacy operation to the identified information comprise instructions configured to apply the data privacy operation to the one or more of: confidential information, patient information, personally identifiable information (PII), personal health information (PHI), sensitive personal information (SPI), or Payment Card Industry information (PCI) contained within the raw signal. 
     
     
         16 . The computer system of  claim 11 , wherein the instructions configured to apply the data privacy operation to the identified information comprise instructions configured to temporarily obscure the identified information. 
     
     
         17 . The computer system of  claim 11 , wherein the instructions configured to derive the partially normalized signal from the raw signal comprise instructions configured to:
 submit a region to location services;   receive a region ID corresponding to the region from the location services; and   insert the region ID into the partially normalized signal.   
     
     
         18 . The computer system of  claim 11 , wherein the instructions configured to access the list of one or more geo cells where the raw signal potentially originated comprise instructions configured to:
 recognize a named entity in content of the raw signal;   query a geo cell database with the named entity; and   receive the list of one or more geo cells from the geo cell database.   
     
     
         19 . The computer system of  claim 11 , wherein the instructions configured to ingest the raw signal comprise instructions configured to ingest one of: a social signal, a web signal, or a streaming signal. 
     
     
         20 . The computer system of  claim 11 , further comprising instructions configured to formulate the location annotation in view of a probability the raw signal originated within the geo cell.