Statistics Austria receives and processes fully pseudonymised datasets, according to section 6 (2) Register Census Act, from different register-keeping authorities. Thanks to the eGovernment Act, registers can be linked in absolute compliance with data protection. This is done using the branch-specific personal identification number for official statistics (bPIN OS), which is generated by the Data Protection Commission and does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about individual persons. Data linkage is therefore performed without names using the pseudonym bPIN OS.
A lot of attention is paid to data protection during data processing as well as for publication of the results. At the person level unique or rare combinations of characteristics could allow traceability to individual persons. To prevent individuals from identification, the results are treated with the "record swapping" method.