Securing Data Platforms: Strategic Masking Techniques for Privacy and Security for B2B Enterprise Data

Abstract: In today's digital age, the imperative to protect data privacy and security is a paramount concern, especially for business-to-business (B2B) enterprises that handle sensitive information. These enterprises are increasingly constructing data platforms, which are integrated suites of technology solutions architected for the efficient management, processing, storage, and data analysis. It has become critical to design these data platforms with mechanisms that inherently support data privacy and security, particularly as they encounter the added complexity of safeguarding unstructured data types such as log files and text documents. Within this context, data masking stands out as a vital feature of data platform architecture. It proactively conceals sensitive elements, ensuring data privacy while preserving the information's value for business operations and analytics. This protective measure entails a strategic two-fold process: firstly, accurately pinpointing the sensitive data that necessitates concealment, and secondly, applying sophisticated methods to disguise that data effectively within the data platform infrastructure. This research delves into the nuances of embedding advanced data masking techniques within the very fabric of data platforms and an in-depth exploration of how enterprises can adopt a comprehensive approach toward effective data masking implementation by exploring different identification and anonymization techniques.