ECG Unveiled: Analysis of Client Re-identification Risks in Real-World ECG Datasets
: Wang, Ziyu; Kanduri, Anil; Aqajari, Seyed Amir Hossein; Jafarlou, Salar; Mousavi, Sanaz R.; Liljeberg, Pasi; Malik, Shaista; Rahmani, Amir M.
: N/A
: IEEE International Conference on Body Sensor Networks
: 2024
: International Conference on Wearable and Implantable Body Sensor Networks
: 2024 IEEE 20th International Conference on Body Sensor Networks (BSN)
: 20
: 979-8-3315-3015-0
: 979-8-3315-3014-3
: 2376-8886
: 2376-8894
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/BSN63547.2024.10780752
: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10780752
While ECG data is crucial for diagnosing and monitoring heart conditions, it also contains unique biometric information that poses significant privacy risks. Existing ECG re-identification studies rely on exhaustive analysis of numerous deep learning features, confining to ad-hoc explainability towards clinicians decision making. In this work, we delve into explainability of ECG re-identification risks using transparent machine learning models. We use SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) analysis to identify and explain the key features contributing to re-identification risks. We conduct an empirical analysis of identity re-identification risks using ECG data from five diverse real-world datasets, encompassing 223 participants. By employing transparent machine learning models, we reveal the diversity among different ECG features in contributing towards re-identification of individuals with an accuracy of 0.76 for gender, 0.67 for age group, and 0.82 for participant ID re-identification. Our approach provides valuable insights for clinical experts and guides the development of effective privacy-preserving mechanisms. Further, our findings emphasize the necessity for robust privacy measures in real-world health applications and offer detailed, actionable insights for enhancing data anonymization techniques.
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This research was funded by the US National Science Foundation under the Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) Grant CNS-2344869.