# Combinatorial Algorithms for String Sanitization

## TL;DR

This paper introduces algorithms for sanitizing strings to hide sensitive patterns while preserving data utility, balancing minimal length, pattern integrity, and minimal edits, with applications in location and DNA data sharing.

## Contribution

It presents time-optimal algorithms for string sanitization that conceal sensitive patterns while maintaining non-sensitive pattern properties, including a heuristic for enhanced security.

## Key findings

- Algorithms achieve minimal-length sanitized strings.
- The heuristic prevents pattern reinstatement.
- Methods preserve pattern frequencies and order.

## Abstract

String data are often disseminated to support applications such as location-based service provision or DNA sequence analysis. This dissemination, however, may expose sensitive patterns that model confidential knowledge. In this paper, we consider the problem of sanitizing a string by concealing the occurrences of sensitive patterns, while maintaining data utility, in two settings that are relevant to many common string processing tasks. In the first setting, we aim to generate the minimal-length string that preserves the order of appearance and frequency of all non-sensitive patterns. Such a string allows accurately performing tasks based on the sequential nature and pattern frequencies of the string. To construct such a string, we propose a time-optimal algorithm, TFS-ALGO. We also propose another time-optimal algorithm, PFS-ALGO, which preserves a partial order of appearance of non-sensitive patterns but produces a much shorter string that can be analyzed more efficiently. The strings produced by either of these algorithms are constructed by concatenating non-sensitive parts of the input string. However, it is possible to detect the sensitive patterns by ``reversing'' the concatenation operations. In response, we propose a heuristic, MCSR-ALGO, which replaces letters in the strings output by the algorithms with carefully selected letters, so that sensitive patterns are not reinstated, implausible patterns are not introduced, and occurrences of spurious patterns are prevented. In the second setting, we aim to generate a string that is at minimal edit distance from the original string, in addition to preserving the order of appearance and frequency of all non-sensitive patterns. To construct such a string, we propose an algorithm, ETFS-ALGO, based on solving specific instances of approximate regular expression matching.