Secondary Cell Suppression by Gaussian Elimination: An Algorithm Suitable for Handling Issues with Zeros and Singletons

To protect tabular data through cell suppression, efficient algorithms are essential. Gaussian elimination can be used for secondary cell suppression to prevent exact disclosure. A beneficial feature of this method is that all tables created from the same microdata can be handled simultaneously. This paper presents a solution to the issue where suppressed zeros in frequency tables cannot protect each other. In magnitude tables, it outlines how the algorithm can be tailored to provide protection against singleton contributors using their own data for disclosure.