NetID Anonymization Tool

Provides automated anonymization for CSV-based datasets that contain common identifiers. The result is an anonymized CSV with all common identifiers removed and replaced with an anonymized ID auid.

This script requires a project-specific secret. Given the same identity and the same secret, auid will contain the same value. Any difference in the identity or secret will result in a different auid. If no secret is provided, a secret is generated for you and saved as a file.

This script can be used to:

• anonymize a single dataset
• anonymize multiple separate datasets that, using the same secret, will the same identity to the same auids
• anonymize a single dataset for different groups of researchers, using different secrets, to generate different auids

Usage

python anon-csv.py -s {project-specific secret} input-file.csv

Identifiers Removed

The script removes the following common identifiers:

• netid
• Last Name
• First Name
• Username
• Student ID
• UIN