The Risk of Disclosure for Microdata
Statistical agencies that provide microdata for public use strive to keep the risk of disclosure of confidential information negligible. Assessing the magnitude of the risk of disclosure is not easy, however. Whether a data user or intruder attempts to obtain confidential information from a public-use file depends on the perceived costs of identifying a record, the perceived probability of success, and the information expected to be gained. In this article, a…