CCSP · Question #538
What strategy involves replacing sensitive data with opaque values, usually with a means of mapping it back to the original value?
The correct answer is C. Tokenization. Tokenization replaces sensitive data (like a credit card number) with a random, opaque token that has no mathematical relationship to the original value, while a secure token vault maintains the mapping so the original can be retrieved when needed. Masking (A) permanently obscure
Question
What strategy involves replacing sensitive data with opaque values, usually with a means of mapping it back to the original value?
Options
- AMasking
- BAnonymization
- CTokenization
- DObfuscation
How the community answered
(49 responses)- A2% (1)
- B2% (1)
- C92% (45)
- D4% (2)
Explanation
Tokenization replaces sensitive data (like a credit card number) with a random, opaque token that has no mathematical relationship to the original value, while a secure token vault maintains the mapping so the original can be retrieved when needed. Masking (A) permanently obscures data with no way to reverse it - think "John Doe" becoming "J*** ***" - so there's no mapping back. Anonymization (B) is similar: it irreversibly strips identifying information, by design making recovery impossible. Obfuscation (D) is a broader term meaning "making something harder to understand," but it doesn't imply a reversible mapping mechanism.
Memory tip: Think of a coat check - you hand over your coat (sensitive data) and receive a ticket (token). The ticket is meaningless on its own, but the coat check desk (token vault) can always swap it back for the real thing. That reversible, opaque placeholder = tokenization.
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