Blinding Identity Taxonomy
The BIT Report is an official Kantara Initiative report (PDF format / HTML format)
OCA capture bases contain a "pii_attributes" flagging block to enable schema issuers to flag attributes that could potentially unblind the identity of a governing entity. In order to establish commonality across Working Groups (WGs), Task Forces (TFs), and Focus Groups (FGs) at Trust over IP, the BIT fields and notes are defined below for general reference.
BIT Fields & Notes
The field(s) below may be represented by single or multiple fields in your application. The overall suggested approach is to be conservative. When reviewing the contents of your dataset against the taxonomy, you should encrypt if the taxonomy might apply, rather than taking a narrow approach. You may find that a field in your dataset might fall within more than one category. That is to be expected as the definitions are somewhat, and intentionally, fuzzy. More precise or prescriptive definitions are the purview of profiles and schemas, where the population of possible field categories can be prescribed or defined more precisely.
# | Field Categories | Notes | DPV Entries |
1 | Names | This includes, but is not restricted to: First Names, Last Names, Full Names, and Entity Names. | |
2 | Physical Address(es) | ||
3 | E-mail Address(es) | ||
4 | Telephone Number(s) | ||
5 | Postal Code(s) | May be included with Physical Address. | |
6 | Personal Software Application Handles | This is a variant on Name. Example sources include Skype, Slack, RocketChat, etc. | |
7 | Profile Pages | ||
8 | Passport Numbers | ||
9 | Social Security Numbers | ||
10 | National Insurance Numbers | ||
11 | Driving License Numbers | ||
12 | Vehicle Registration Numbers | ||
13 | Bank Account Numbers | ||
14 | Financial Institution Card Numbers | This includes but is not restricted to credit or debit card numbers. | |
15 | Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) | ||
16 | Private Keys / Master Keys | ||
17 | Symmetric Keys | ||
18 | Public Keys | ||
19 | Link Secrets | ||
20 | Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) | ||
21 | Employee Identifiers | This may include identifiers from benefits providers like pension plans. | |
22 | Account Identifiers | ||
23 | Government Identifiers | Numbers, cards or other artefacts issued by a government to a natural person or entity. | |
24 | Membership Identifiers | Examples include but are not restricted to membership in a political party, trade union, fraternal order, survivors groups, or email lists. | |
25 | Institutional Identifiers | Examples include private health care providers, private clubs, and so on. | |
26 | Case Identifiers | Examples include Case ID Numbers, Benefit Plan Participation Identifiers, and so on. | |
27 | User Identifiers | Examples include User IDs, logins, and so on. | |
28 | Passwords | ||
29 | Signatures | Analog or Digital | |
30 | Digital Certificates | Even where a certificate is published and publicly available. | |
31 | Photos | When encrypting files, examine whether the file name should also be encrypted. | |
32 | Videos | When encrypting files, examine whether the file name should also be encrypted. | |
33 | Images | When encrypting files, examine whether the file name should also be encrypted. | |
34 | Vocal Sound Bites | When encrypting files, examine whether the file name should also be encrypted. | |
35 | Examples include Date of Birth[2], transaction dates, and so on. | dpv:AuthenticationHistory, dpv:CallLog, dpv:PaymentCardExpiry, dpv:Transaction | |
36 | Genetic Identifiers | This includes but is not restricted to chromosomal, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) data. | |
37 | Biometric Identifiers | This includes but is not restricted to voiceprints, iris scans, facial imaging and dactyloscopic (fingerprint) data. | |
38 | Internet Protocol (IP) Addresses | ||
39 | Media Access Control (MAC) Addresses | ||
40 | Service Set Identifiers (SSID) | This includes local WiFi SSIDs. | |
41 | Bluetooth Device Addresses (BD_ADDR) | ||
42 | Locational Information | This includes Global Positioning System (GPS) or other coordinates, 3-word addresses, and so on. | |
43 | Cookie Browser Identifiers | ||
44 | Radio Frequency Identifiers | ||
45 | IoT Identifiers (incl. smart meter data) | ||
46 | International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) | ||
47 | International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) | ||
48 | Social media posts and comments | This kind of field may need to be parsed and/or tokenized as part of the blinding process | |
49 | This kind of field may need to be parsed and/or tokenized as part of the blinding process |
[1] Not all captured dates will reveal a person or entity’s identity but some will so if in doubt, encrypt.
[2] In some use cases, this can be avoided by using only the Month, or Month/Year of birth, but only if this can be validated.
[3] Text which does not have a given structure, nor which is entered in any specific format. Note: All free-form text fields should be encrypted.