What is data masking?

Data masking is the process of obscuring or replacing personally identifiable information (PII) in a dataset with fictitious or scrambled data to protect it from unauthorized access. Through data anonymization, pseudonymization, redaction, scrubbing, or de-identification, the goal is to allow the data to be used for testing, training, or development without exposing any sensitive information. 

Data masking is often crucial for ensuring compliance with privacy regulations such as GDPR and HIPAA, allowing businesses to share or access data without exposing personal or confidential details. For example, hospitals use data masking to protect patient privacy and ensure HIPAA compliance when managing sensitive information in EHR systems.