Modern-day organizations are always concerned about their sensitive data. You must invest in techniques to protect your data – both at transit and at rest. You are not the only one interested in your data; hackers will always try to steal it for manipulation and illegal use. Data masking can be a perfect technique for creating a structurally similar but inauthentic version of your data. You can use these files when the actual data is not required. This post will uncover data masking techniques you should consider to protect your data. Keep scrolling to learn more!
Top 5 Data Masking Techniques:
Data masking can help you make similar but inauthentic copies of your sensitive information. These datasets can be used for different purposes for user training and software testing. Despite the stringent security controls you have placed, hackers can still manage to steal your data and use it against your name. It would be best not to expose your real data if not necessary. Data masking is a perfect privacy protection technique that modern organizations should consider. The following list will explain a few data masking techniques you must consider in your organization. Let us begin!
1. Substitution masking:
As the name suggests, substitution masking involves replacing the real data with a fictitious copy. The fictitious copy will seem realistic as it can be used for various purposes. For instance, you can replace the actual names of your customers with randomly generated names from a list. Hackers will never decode these names or numbers, leaving your data in safe hands. The data will remain useful for various tasks and analysis but there will be zero chances of privacy threats and risks.
One thing you should consider here is that the masked data must retain the actual data type and format. When using it in applications, you will never confront an issue. Substitution masking is widely used in situations when data readability must be retained.
2. Data encryption:
Data encryption is the most popular and widely practiced technique for data protection. It allows you to convert your data into unreadable packs. No one can read the data without a decryption key. Organizations these days invest in aggressive data encryption techniques to protect sensitive information. Even if a hacker manages to steal your data, he will never decode it without the key.
The inaccessibility of information during encrypted scenarios makes this technique a perfect one. Do you want to protect your organization’s data? You should opt for cyber security services and let experts help you with data encryption techniques!
3. Data shuffling:
Another effective data masking technique is shuffling. In this technique, data in different columns is randomized among the records. It involves the rearrangement of the existing data. For instance, you can shuffle customers’ IDs in a particular column. Names in the columns will never match the original record for deception purposes.
Organizations often invest in data shuffling to preserve the uniqueness of a dataset. They do so without linking the data back to the source. When dealing with larger datasets, data shuffling can be a perfect technique.
4. Nulling out:
How about replacing your actual data with null values? Nulling out is nothing but the same! Nulling out technique is good when certain data fields are not required for a particular operation. Moreover, it is also useful when the complete removal of certain data fields is necessary. You might confront a situation where the names and contact information might not be necessary for the analysis. You can null out these values through nulling out.
Nulling out is an effective technique to ensure that no sensitive data remains exposed. You can also alleviate the need for using unwanted data fields during a particular analysis, allowing you to save time and effort.
5. Data tokenization:
Data tokenization is another effective technique to protect your sensitive information from external and internal threats. Tokenization involves replacing your data with non-sensitive tokens. These tokens have no exploitable value and they will bring no good to hackers. Unlike encryption, tokenization does not require a decryption key. These tokens can never be mathematically reversed into their original form. Once you tokenize your data, you can store the original copy in the vault and use the token for applications.
Protect your sensitive data with cybersecurity experts!
Your sensitive information can be a prime target for hackers. They will find multiple ways to penetrate your network and steal your confidential data. The best you can do is to opt for data security and masking techniques. These techniques allow you to convert your data into unreadable and inaccessible data packs for safe transit. It would be best to contact cybersecurity experts in your town and let them help you in this quest!
