Computer implemented method for generating a pseudonym, computer readable storage medium and computer system

1. A computer implemented method for generating a pseudonym for a user comprising:

entering a user-selected secret and storing said user-selected secret into a memory;

computing a private key by applying an embedding and randomizing function onto said user-selected secret;

storing the private key in the memory;

computing a public key using the private key, the public key and the private key forming an asymmetric cryptographic key pair;

erasing said user-selected secret and the private key from the memory after said public key is computed; and

outputting the public key for providing the pseudonym, wherein said pseudonym is assigned as an identity of said user and a binding between said pseudonym and said user's identity is not established by any third party.

2. The method of claim 1 , the secret being selected from the group consisting of a user-selected password, a secret key, biometric data.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising using at least one public parameter for applying the embedding and randomization function.

4. The method of claim 3 , the public parameter being selected from the group consisting of a username, a user email address, a user identifier, and wherein the embedding and randomizing function is applied on the public parameter and the secret to provide a combination.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the embedding and randomization function comprises a binary Cantor pairing function for embedding the secret.

6. The method of claim 1 , the embedding and randomizing function comprising encrypting at least the embedded secret using a symmetric cryptographic algorithm by means of a symmetric key for randomizing the embedded secret.

7. The method of claim 1 , the embedding and randomizing function comprising encrypting at least the secret using AES by means of a user-specific symmetric key for embedding and randomizing the secret.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the embedding and randomizing function comprises:

applying a first one-way function on the secret to provide a first value,

providing a random number,

embedding the random number and the first value by combining them to provide a combination,

applying a second one-way function on the combination to provide a second value, wherein the second value constitutes the private key.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first one-way function is a first hash function, and the second one-way function is a second hash function.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising storing the random number in a database using a public parameter assigned to the user as a database access key.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the computation of the public key is performed by ECC cryptography.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising providing a set of domain parameters comprising a first base point for the ECC cryptography, computing a first public key for providing a first pseudonym by the ECC cryptography using the domain parameters and the first base point, replacing the first base point by a second base point in the domain parameters, and computing a second public key by ECC cryptography using the second base point to provide a second pseudonym.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising using the pseudonym as a database access key for storing a data object in a database.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising storing the pseudonym in a user profile that is assigned to the user as the username.

15. A non-transitory tangible computer readable storage medium having stored therein instructions, which when executed by a computer system cause the computer system to generate a pseudonym for a user upon the user's entry of a user-selected secret by performing the steps of:

receiving the user-selected secret and storing the user-selected secret in memory;

computing a private key by applying an embedding and randomizing function onto the user-selected secret;

storing the private key in the memory;

computing a public key using the private key, the public key and the private key forming an asymmetric cryptographic key pair;

erasing the user-selected secret and the private key from the memory after the public key is computed; and

outputting the public key for providing the pseudonym, wherein said pseudonym is assigned as an identity of said user and a binding between said pseudonym and said user's identity is not established by any third party.

16. A computer system comprising:

means for entering a user-selected secret and storing the user-selected secret and a private key in a memory;

processor means being operable to:

compute the private key by applying an embedding and randomizing function onto the user-selected secret;

compute a public key using the private key, the public key and the private key forming an asymmetric cryptographic key pair;

erase the user-selected secret and the private key from the memory, after the public key is computed; and

output the public key for providing the pseudonym, wherein said pseudonym is assigned as an identity of said user and a binding between said pseudonym and said user's identity is not established by any third party.

17. The computer system of claim 16 , further comprising a database and means for performing a database access operation using the pseudonym for storing a pseudonymous data object in the database.

18. The computer system of claim 17 , further comprising an analytic system for analyzing the pseudomized data objects stored in the database, the analytic system comprising one of a data mining or a clustering component for performing the analysis.

19. The computer system of claim 16 , the means for computing a private key by applying an embedding and randomizing function onto the secret implementing a binary cantor pairing function for embedding the secret.

20. The computer system of claim 16 , wherein the means for computing a private key by applying an embedding and randomizing function onto the secret is operable to perform the steps of:

applying a first one-way function on the secret to provide a first value,

providing a random number,

embedding the random number and the first value for providing a second combination,

applying a second one-way function on the second combination to provide a second value, wherein the second value constitutes the private key.