Scenario: A healthcare organization stores sensitive patient information. What data masking technique should be used to ensure that healthcare staff can access only the information necessary for patient care?

A.  Substitution

B.  Scrambling

C.  Nulling Out

D.  Tokenization

Answer:  D

Explanation:

• Tokenization: This method replaces sensitive data with a non-sensitive equivalent, known as a token. The real data is stored securely, and the token is used for processing. Only those with special privileges can detokenize it back to the original data. This is ideal for highly sensitive and regulated data like healthcare records, as it allows for minimal exposure of the sensitive information.
• Substitution: This technique replaces a data element with a substitute but may still leave some form of the original data exposed, which is not ideal for very sensitive information like healthcare records.
• Scrambling: This rearranges the data but could be reversed if the scrambling algorithm is known. Also, scrambling may not be effective for small sets of data.
• Nulling Out: This means replacing data with null or zero values, but this would not be practical if healthcare staff need to see some of the data for patient care.

Tokenization would provide the necessary balance of data protection and accessibility for healthcare staff.