Hierarchical key management for multi-resolution load data representation

It has been shown that information about a consumer´s actions, beliefs and preferences can be extracted from high resolution load data. This information can be used in ways that violate consumer privacy. In order to increase consumer control over this information, it has been suggested that load data be represented in multiple resolutions, with each resolution secured with a different key. To make this approach work in the real-world, a suitable key management needs to be employed. In this paper, we consider a combination of multi-resolution load data representation with hierarchical key management. Emphasis is placed on a privacy-aware design that gives the end-user the freedom to decide which entity is allowed to access user related data and at what granularity.