CompTIA DataSys+ (DS0-001)Data and Database SecurityHard
A highly regulated financial institution is integrating a third-party analytics platform with its core banking database. The platform requires access to customer transaction data, but regulatory compliance (e.g., PCI DSS) strictly prohibits the third-party from ever seeing actual credit card numbers. The solution must provide realistic-looking data for analytical purposes without exposing the sensitive card numbers. Which advanced data protection technique is most appropriate for this scenario?
- AAttribute-Based Access Control (ABAC)
- BHomomorphic encryption
- CTokenization
- DSecure Multi-Party Computation (SMC)
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Tokenization
Tokenization is the process of replacing sensitive data with a non-sensitive substitute, or 'token,' that has no extrinsic or exploitable meaning or value. It allows the third-party platform to perform analytics on realistic-looking, but valueless, data without ever handling actual credit card numbers, which is critical for PCI DSS compliance.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. ABAC is an authorization model that grants access based on attributes, not a data protection technique for obscuring sensitive values for analytics.
- B. Homomorphic encryption allows computations on encrypted data without decrypting it, but it's computationally intensive and typically used for specific cryptographic operations, not for replacing data for analytics in this manner.
- D. SMC allows multiple parties to jointly compute a function over their inputs while keeping those inputs private, but it's a complex cryptographic protocol for joint computation, not a direct data replacement strategy for a third-party analytics platform.
Tokenization
The process of replacing sensitive data with a unique, non-sensitive identifier (token) that retains the data's format and original meaning without compromising its security.
- Primarily used for payment card industry (PCI) compliance.
- Tokens are typically randomly generated or cryptographically derived.
- The original sensitive data is stored securely in a separate token vault.
Memory trick: Advanced obfuscation is like using magic to hide the real treasure.