Which data protection technique preserves data format while hiding actual values by substituting placeholders?

• A. Tokenization
• B. Data Masking
• C. Aggregation and Banding
• D. Anonymization

Answer: (B)

Data masking preserves the format of data while concealing actual values by substituting placeholders. It replaces sensitive characters with non-sensitive equivalents that keep the same structure and length, so the data remains usable for testing, development, or demonstrations without exposing real information. For example, a credit card number might appear as a pattern like 4111 **** **** 1111 or 4111-1111-1111-1111, maintaining the recognizable format while hiding the true digits. This approach contrasts with tokenization, which replaces data with tokens that may not resemble the original format, and with anonymization or aggregation approaches that alter the data beyond just masking its visible value.