Proactive resistance to re-identification of genomic data

Abstract

A method for assessing risk associated with a request from an inquirer for allele frequency from a database of genetic data, comprising: (i) generating an allele database comprising allele frequency information and request frequency information for each of a plurality of alleles; (ii) generating an inquirer database comprising allele request information about a plurality of inquirers; (iii) receiving a request for genetic data from an inquirer, comprising a request for allele frequency for one or more alleles and an identifier of the inquirer; (iv) updating the request frequency information based on the received request; (v) updating the allele request information for the requesting inquirer; (vi) calculating an allele risk score; (vii) calculating an inquirer risk score; and (viii) assessing, based on the allele risk score and the inquirer risk score, a risk associated with the received request.