Title: Secured obfuscated queries in spatial networks

Authors: K.B. Priya Iyer; V. Shanthi

Addresses: Sathyabama University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India; Department of Computer Science, M.O.P. Vaishnav College for Women, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India ' Department of MCA, St. Joseph's College of Engineering, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract: The recent drive in communication technology made smartphone users search for geographical point of interest such as nearest ATM, shopping mall and hospitals. The thirst for geo-search opens novel spatial queries in the arena of location-based apps as well as techniques that enhance the user location privacy. This paper introduces a new obfuscation technique for protecting user location based on k-means clustering. A new query called Secured Obfuscated Spatial (SOS) query to provide an analysis of the proposed obfuscation technique is developed to evaluate the efficiency. Finally, the experimental results validate the solution in preserving user privacy.

Keywords: obfuscation; k-means clustering; location privacy; spatial databases; Boolean skyline keyword queries; GIS; geographic information services; location-based services; GPS; global positioning systems; user location; smartphones; user privacy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJWMC.2013.057583

International Journal of Wireless and Mobile Computing, 2013 Vol.6 No.6, pp.588 - 598

Received: 08 Jan 2013
Accepted: 16 Jul 2013
Published online: 16 Oct 2014 *

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