Which method assigns a non-reversible token to data, mapping to the original through a secure lookup?

Which method assigns a non-reversible token to data, mapping to the original through a secure lookup?

• A. Obfuscation
• B. Tokenization
• C. Steganography
• D. Password manager

Answer: (B)

Tokenization substitutes sensitive data with a non-sensitive token and keeps the mapping in a protected vault. The token can stand in for the real data in systems, but you cannot derive the original information from the token alone—you must perform a secure lookup in the token vault to retrieve it. This design makes the data non-reversible from the token without access to the vault, which is ideal for protecting data in-use or in-storage while still allowing authorized retrieval when needed. Obfuscation merely hides data through a reversible transformation and can often be undone if the method is known, so it isn’t as robust for protecting sensitive data. Steganography hides data inside another medium, which isn’t about replacing data with tokens for system use. A password manager stores and retrieves credentials, not a data-substitution mechanism used for data protection across systems.

Tokenization substitutes sensitive data with a non-sensitive token and keeps the mapping in a protected vault. The token can stand in for the real data in systems, but you cannot derive the original information from the token alone—you must perform a secure lookup in the token vault to retrieve it. This design makes the data non-reversible from the token without access to the vault, which is ideal for protecting data in-use or in-storage while still allowing authorized retrieval when needed.

Obfuscation merely hides data through a reversible transformation and can often be undone if the method is known, so it isn’t as robust for protecting sensitive data. Steganography hides data inside another medium, which isn’t about replacing data with tokens for system use. A password manager stores and retrieves credentials, not a data-substitution mechanism used for data protection across systems.