Benefits of Data Masking

Many innovations in the modern day and age are a necessity rather than a preferred choice. Data masking is one such innovation. Thrust upon us by the increase in technology and the concomitant reduction in barriers to the theft of data as well as expansion in regulation of industry in general, data masking has become a compulsory part of virtually every business that works with sensitive data and non-production databases.

Data masking goes by many names, such as data obfuscation, data scrambling, data cleansing, and data anonymization. And although the names may be different, the purpose is the same – to keep private data just that; private. Working from the premise that prevention is better than cure, data masking provides protection against the potentially business destroying act of having your data compromised.

With data masking software in place, such as that provided by Orbium, you can rest assured that your sensitive data will not be compromised even if it is misappropriated. And let’s face it, these days, who can you trust? There have been numerous instances of supposedly loyal employees stealing information for any number of reasons, be they financial or for revenge.

There are numerous data masking solutions, each with their own relative plusses and minuses and each best suited to a specific type of database and data. It is for this purpose that it is often best to find an end to end solution provider to advise you on what is the best solution for you and has a plethora of software solutions so as to best tailor a solution for your specific needs rather than sell you something that they have to sell.

In many industries there are regulations governing the protection of sensitive data. Non-compliance can result in hefty fines that will far exceed the price of any data masking software solution. Potentially must more costly though, is the potential loss in goodwill, clients, and business that can flow from a breach of your database. Costs of such an event can be fatal to a company. Should clients decide to instigate a class action suit, the legal costs can be prohibitive; and that is even before a potentially detrimental verdict.

Masking your data gives you the peace of mind that your data is protected, enabling you to concentrate on other important aspects of business. Data masking software is a cheap insurance policy against the exponential growth in technology and the nature of human greed.