20 best data masking tools to use in 2024
List of data masking tools
- Informatica Cloud Data Masking
- Oracle Data Masking and Subsetting
- Delphix Data Masking
- Broadcom Test Data Manager
- Microsoft Azure SQL Database
- K2View Data Masking Tools
- Immuta Dynamic Data Masking
- IRI FieldShield
- DATPROF Privacy
- Hush-Hush Data Masking
- Imperva Data Security
- Protegrity Data Security Platform
- Solix Data Masking
- VGS Platform
- BizDataX
- IBM Infosphere Optim Data Privacy
- Data Secure
- Redgate Data Masker
- Mage Data
- Salesforce Data Mask
In an era where data breaches and privacy concerns loom large, the significance of robust data security measures cannot be overstated.
Data masking has emerged as a crucial defense mechanism to protect sensitive information.
This article explores the top data masking tools available in the market today. These tools play a pivotal role in safeguarding data, complying with regulatory standards, and fortifying the foundations of a secure digital environment.
What is data masking?
Data masking is a technique used to protect sensitive data by replacing, encrypting, or scrambling original data with fictional data. It’s also referred to as data obfuscation, data anonymization, and data sanitization.
This masking makes it unrecognizable to unauthorized individuals or systems; while still retaining its usability. The dataset’s overall structure and functionality is preserved.
Data masking tools aim to provide a secure environment for data analysis, software testing, and other operations that require using realistic data safely.
Data masking can be achieved through various methods, including:
- Encryption – The encrypted data will then require a secret key to unlock.
- Anonymization – This erases personally identifiable information from datasets.
- Tokenization – This substitutes sensitive data elements with non-sensitive equivalents.
Why is data masking important?
Data masking is important for several reasons, all of which contribute to protecting information and maintaining the integrity of data-driven operations.
Privacy protection
One of the primary reasons for data masking is to protect the privacy of individuals whose information is stored in databases. By replacing or obfuscating sensitive details, organizations can prevent unauthorized access and ensure that personal information remains confidential.
Regulatory compliance
Many industries are required to follow rigid data protection regulations. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are two prominent statutes.
Data masking tools help organizations comply with these regulations by reducing the risk of unauthorized disclosure or breaches.
Development and testing security
In software development and testing environments, realistic data is often required for effective testing. However, using actual production data poses significant security risks.
Data masking tools allow organizations to create realistic test datasets without exposing sensitive information. This maintains both security and functionality.
Risk mitigation
Data breaches can have severe financial, legal, and reputational consequences for organizations.
By employing data masking, companies can proactively reduce the risk of data breaches. This, in turn, limits the potential damage that could result from unauthorized access.
Third-party collaboration
Sharing data is often necessary when collaborating with third parties. Data masking tools enable organizations to share information securely without disclosing sensitive details.
These tools foster collaboration while maintaining confidentiality.
Employee training
There may be scenarios where employees require access to real data for training purposes. Data masking allows organizations to provide realistic training environments without exposing actual sensitive information.
Customer trust
Demonstrating a commitment to data security and privacy through practices like data masking helps build trust with customers. Knowing that their sensitive information is adequately protected can enhance the reputation of an organization.
Top 20 data masking tools in 2024
Take a look at the top data masking tools for 2024:
1. Informatica Cloud Data Masking
Informatica offers a comprehensive data masking tool designed to address the critical need to protect sensitive information while maintaining utility.
It employs advanced techniques, including dynamic data masking. The tool also supports a variety of masking methods, such as substitution, shuffling, and encryption, making it a flexible solution to meet your requirements.
With a focus on maintaining data consistency and referential integrity, Informatica ensures that masked data remains usable for testing and analysis.
2. Oracle Data Masking and Subsetting
Oracle’s data masking tool is designed to help organizations achieve secure and cost-effective data provisioning for various scenarios. These include test development and partner environments.
The tool is optimized for the Oracle Database and contains features like sensitive data discovery, data subsetting, and flexible deployment options.
3. Delphix Data Masking
Delphix’s data masking tool automatically identifies and masks sensitive information. Its profiling functionality can detect private data across several sources, including files and relational databases.
Delphix provides over 50 out-of-the-box profile sets that cover 30 different types of sensitive data.
You won’t need to worry about programming, as the Delphix masking algorithms don’t require it. You can even customize them or define your own algorithms.
4. Broadcom Test Data Manager
Broadcom’s Test Data Manager is a powerful solution that addresses the challenges of managing and securing test data. This data masking tool has features to ensure the privacy and security of sensitive information during the testing process.
The tool supports various data masking techniques, including substitution and encryption. Its scalability also enables the efficient handling of large datasets.
5. Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Azure’s dynamic data masking tool aims to limit the exposure of sensitive data to non-privileged users. The tool helps prevent unauthorized access to information without making any changes to the underlying database.
The tool is available for use within the Microsoft Azure ecosystem.
Microsoft also provides an Azure portal for setting up the dynamic data masking policy. Users can define the fields to be masked, the masking functions, and the authorized users.
6. K2View Data Masking Tools
K2View is intended to anonymize sensitive data at an enterprise scale. It provides solutions for compliant software testing, data analytics, and B2B data sharing.
The data masking tool also has capabilities like full automation by integrating masking into CI/CD pipelines. It’s made for quick and easy rollouts for deployment in weeks and can be released either on-premises or in a cloud environment.
7. Immuta Dynamic Data Masking
Immuta offers a data masking tool as a feature of its data security platform. It aims to protect sensitive data by modifying or hiding sensitive values without altering the underlying data.
Immuta’s dynamic data masking capabilities provide security and privacy controls at query runtime. This enables organizations to derive more value from their sensitive data without compromising security.
The tool can be integrated with various platforms and is designed to support a wide range of use cases in different industries.
8. IRI FieldShield
Innovative Routines International (IRI) specializes in data management solutions. Its FieldShield data masking tool is meant to help organizations protect sensitive data by applying various masking techniques.
FieldShield is part of the IRI Data Protector Suite, which offers a comprehensive set of data protection and privacy solutions.
9. DATPROF Privacy
DATPROF Privacy is a data masking and synthetic data generation tool. It allows companies to protect sensitive data while providing representative test data for use in development and testing.
DATPROF ensures high processing speeds even when handling large databases. The company provides global support for the tool which sees use in various industries.
10. Hush-Hush Data Masking
Hush-Hush specializes in data protection solutions and offers its own data masking tool. The tool allows users to discover and mask sensitive data and helps organizations comply with relevant regulations.
Users can choose from multiple algorithms for their data anonymization. The company’s data masking solutions are widely used for outsourcing, testing, development, training, and third-party integration.
11. Imperva Data Security
Imperva’s data security solution protects sensitive data by providing comprehensive visibility and control over data access and usage. The tool’s features aim to prevent data breaches and ensure compliance with regulations.
Imperva’s platform is purpose-built for hybrid and multi-cloud environments. The solution also extends data discovery, classification, and protection capabilities to managed database services in AWS and Azure.
12. Protegrity Data Security Platform
Protegrity’s data masking tool is included as part of its Data Protection Platform. It offers centralized policy audit logging and monitoring to secure sensitive data.
Protegrity emphasizes the importance of fine-tuning data protection at a field level based on sensitivity and intended use. It enables centralized policy management while allowing data protection to be applied locally.
The tool also affirms partnership integrations, providing compatibility with third-party products, services, and environments.
13. Solix Data Masking
Solix’s data masking tool focuses on securing sensitive data in non-production environments. It is part of their Data Management Solutions product line.
Solix aims to address vulnerabilities by providing a solution to discover sensitive data at scale and then applying data masking techniques to protect it.
It provides comprehensive support for popular databases, including Oracle, MySQL, and Teradata.
14. VGS Platform
Very Good Security (VGS) offers a data protection platform that goes beyond traditional data masking. It’s known for its innovative approach, providing a robust suite of security and privacy solutions.
The data masking tool supports various data protection methods, including tokenization and encryption. VGS also aims to assist businesses in achieving compliance with data protection regulations and industry standards.
15. BizDataX
BizDataX is a data masking tool that specializes in managing test data and ensuring compliance with GDPR regulations. It offers various functionalities, including anonymization, discovery, and subsetting of data.
One of BizDataX’s key features is its ability to find sensitive user data within databases, even in large or legacy systems. By checking data across multiple systems, businesses can gain insights into the whereabouts of sensitive information.
16. IBM Infosphere Optim Data Privacy
IBM InfoSphere Optim Data Privacy is a data masking tool that enables organizations to hide sensitive information across applications, databases, and operating systems. Its primary purpose is to protect confidential data in non-production environments.
The tool offers a range of transformation techniques to replace sensitive information with realistic, fully functional masked data. This still preserves the contextual accuracy of the original data.
Many enterprises have successfully integrated this tool to accelerate software development, protect data privacy, and improve test data delivery times.
17. Data Secure
Data Secure is a data masking tool designed to address the critical need for securing sensitive information within organizations. This solution provides a range of features to protect confidential data during different stages of its lifecycle.
Data Secure focuses on maintaining data consistency and referential integrity, which are essential for preserving relationships between different data elements.
The platform emphasizes ease of use and integration, allowing businesses to incorporate data masking into their existing processes seamlessly.
18. Redgate Data Masker
Redgate’s Data Masker is a powerful data masking tool designed for SQL Server and Oracle databases.
It offers a comprehensive solution to replace sensitive data with anonymized test data. This ensures data privacy and security while preserving the realism and integrity of the original data.
The tool provides consistent and realistic masked data, enabling accurate testing and development without exposing sensitive information.
Data Masker is designed for high performance, allowing for quick and efficient data masking processes.
19. Mage Data
Mage Data is a data security platform focused on providing solutions for enterprises. The tool offers multiple features and functionalities to address sensitive data challenges.
Its many features enable organizations to identify sensitive data, mask it securely, monitor database activities, and ensure compliance.
20. Salesforce Data Mask
Salesforce Data Mask aims to protect sensitive data during testing and comply with regulations. It allows users to securely replace sensitive information with dummy equivalents in their test environments.
One of Data Mask’s advantages is its native approach. All data is kept within the Salesforce platform without the need for external code, API calls, or integrations.
To familiarize users with the tool’s usage, Data Mask offers demos, datasheets, and even a trial to explore its basics.
How to choose the best data masking tools
Selecting the best data masking tool for your organization involves careful consideration of several factors.
Here are some considerations to guide you in choosing the most suitable solution:
Data masking techniques
Evaluate the masking techniques supported by the tool. Look for a data masking tool that offers a wide range of masking methods to address different data privacy needs.
Check also if the tool supports dynamic data masking, which allows real-time masking of sensitive information based on user roles or access privileges. This is crucial for protecting data during live transactions and interactions.
Comprehensive data coverage
Consider the tool’s ability to mask various data types, such as:
- Structured and unstructured data
- Databases
- Files
- Cloud storage
- Personally identifiable information
- Financial data
Ensure that the data masking tool is versatile enough to handle different data sources and formats commonly used within your organization.
Usability and scalability
Assess the tool’s user-friendliness and scalability. Look for a data masking tool that offers an intuitive user interface and flexible deployment options.
Consider the tool’s performance in handling large volumes of data and its ability to manage your company’s growing needs.
Security features
Data masking tools should prioritize security. Evaluate the tool’s security features to ensure that your sensitive information remains well-protected.
Data integrity and consistency
Check if the tool maintains the integrity and consistency of the masked data. It should allow the masked data to retain essential characteristics while making it unidentifiable to unauthorized users.
Support and documentation
Consider the level of support and documentation provided by the data masking tool’s vendor.
Adequate support ensures that any issues are addressed promptly. Comprehensive documentation aids in the efficient implementation and utilization of the data masking solution.
By considering these factors and evaluating your organization’s specific needs, you can choose data masking tools that align with your goals for data security.
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