(ISC)2 Certified in Cybersecurity Practice Exam

Which of the following is a synonym for data encryption?

1. Data masking

2. Data obfuscation

3. Data encoding

4. Data safeguarding

The correct answer is: Data obfuscation

Data encryption is a process that transforms data into a format that is unreadable to unauthorized users, ensuring confidentiality and safeguarding sensitive information. Among the choices provided, the term that best aligns with the concept of data encryption is data obfuscation. Data obfuscation involves making data incomprehensible or unclear to anyone who doesn't possess the appropriate decryption key or method. It serves a similar purpose to encryption by protecting sensitive data from unauthorized access, although the techniques may vary. While encryption relies on algorithms and keys to secure data, obfuscation may involve methods such as scrambling or encoding data in a way that masks its true meaning. This similarity in objective is why data obfuscation is often seen as a synonym for data encryption. The other terms, although related to data privacy or security, describe different processes. Data masking refers to the process of hiding original data with a version that looks and behaves like the real data, typically used for non-production environments. Data encoding is the transformation of data into a different format using a scheme that is publicly available, mainly for data integrity and compatibility, rather than confidentiality. Data safeguarding generally refers to a broader set of practices designed to protect data, encompassing various strategies beyond just encryption.