Buyer Beware: Understanding the trade-off between utility and risk in CART based models using simulation data

Abstract

"This paper evaluates disclosure risk measures for synthetic data generated by CART-based models, using both a controlled simulated dataset and publicly available data. We find that common disclosure risk measures may fail to detect disclosure risks and, in some cases, misrepresent actual disclosure risks. Additionally, CART-based models, while maintaining high statistical utility, may compromise privacy protection. Our findings highlight challenges in measuring disclosure risk of synthetic data and suggest improvements for more accurate risk assessments." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Latner, J., Neunhoeffer, M. & Drechsler, J. (2025): Buyer Beware: Understanding the trade-off between utility and risk in CART based models using simulation data. In: UNECE (Hrsg.) (2025): Expert Meeting on Statistical Data Confidentiality. 15-17 October 2025, p. 1-12.