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Did you know that nearly 143 million Americans, 15.2 million Britishers and 19,000 Canadians had their data stolen? Just like them, your data or your company’s data is at risk. It can be exposed and stolen from you at any time. You may not be aware of it. In today’s world of technology, one’s data is vital. To that, we must make sure that all of us have knowledge about data masking and how we can protect our data. As in this digital age, as technology continues to grow, our data is becoming more like a valuable asset.
What is Data Masking?
Data masking refers to the technique of analyzing information without revealing your personal information. Data Masking protects your company’s data, provides zero data breaches, ensures compliance, hides illegal data and safeguards your organization’s confidentiality. The types and levels of data masking can vary but triple masking as experienced in the product Omniscopy in among the highest of standards. Let’s look at the types.
What are the different types of Data Masking?
Data Masking is further divided into three more categories. Below we will understand the difference between each one of them.
Static Data Masking
Static Data Masking is abbreviated as SDA. It is defined as the method where the crucial data is masked in the original database itself. The information of the data can then be replicated in the tested environment which is then shared with the third-party vendors.
Dynamic Data Masking
Dynamic Data Masking refers to the technique where no secondary data source is needed to save the masked data. This makes the data less vulnerable to attacks. No unauthorized users are allowed to see the confidential data. Its contents are changed frequently so that the data is perfectly masked.
On-the-fly Data Masking
The On-the-fly Data Masking technique occurs when data is transferred from one environment to another. Its technique is similar to Dynamic Data Masking.
Why is data masking necessary?
In the world of the Internet, the number of data breaches is increasing day by day. Many cases of these breaches had a drastic effect on millions of people and companies, leaving their data compromised or exposed.
Some of the cases of data breaches so far have been: Yahoo ( 3billion), Aadhar (1.1 billion), Marriott (500 million), LinkedIn (165 million) and Twitter (330 million), the list goes on.
If companies took their data protection for granted, then this can result in them paying a huge price for the data to be retrieved. The data can be misused by hackers and at times even for intranet applications it can put internal sensitive information at risk. Either way companies put sensitive information at risk, which is quite dangerous.
What are the common techniques of Data Masking you should know?
Whether you want to learn about how to protect your data or want to make the right decision when it comes to choosing the right supplier or vendor. This article explains in detail about the right choices you can make when it comes to Data Masking and how it will improve your organization’s life. Several techniques are available to protect your data and keep it safe. Here’s a rundown of data masking strategies and how they can help you:
- Substitution
The process of substitution means that a company’s real data can be imitated without jeopardizing anyone’s privacy. This protects the data and keeps it disguised thereby, preserving the sensitive data.
- Encryption
In this technique, the encrypted data is only viewable to the authorized users who have full access to the key. It is the most reliable type of data masking and your information is safeguarded.
- Character Scrambling
In Character Scrambling, the original characters are mixed in random order. This makes sure that the original data is not revealed in the process. For example, A person’s server Id is 234457. This can be changed to 574324 without revealing the original version of this Id.
- Nulling out/Deletion
Any unauthorized person who wants to view the data will not have permission to access it. The data, in this case, becomes null.
- Shuffling
As its name suggests, an individual’s data is shuffled in random order. The shuffled data looks quite genuine and secured.
What are the benefits of Data Masking?
Now that you have understood about Data Masking, let us dive deeper into it and raise awareness about it which can help you eliminate data breaches in the future:
- Data Masking provides a one-stop solution to all types of data breaches.
- It prevents loss of data, unauthorized access of your data and protects it.
- It is very budget-friendly and gives instant results when it comes to keeping your data safe.
- Information cannot be stolen by hackers.
- As a company’s decision maker, it makes you feel safe and you can have the time to focus on other important business activities
Which Data Masking software would you recommend?
There are many data masking software out there that could be confusing. This can even make it hard for you to choose. Among the leaders in Data Masking is Omniscopy, which has all the features one would need to have instant and secure data protection and privacy. It is a one of a kind one-stop solution to your problems.
Hence, whenever you plan a new digital update or upgrade to any digital assets that are consumer or end user focused, remember to include data masking in the user journey analytics part of your site, product or solution. Remember what we shared above when planning the process and pay attention to the types, details, and features of data masking, privacy and security while choosing suppliers, vendors, solutions. After all in today’s digital economy, world data is sacred and customer’s trust the highest value.
At best try the triple masking features of data masking in Omniscopy and then decide for yourself.