Oracle Data Masking and Subsetting Reviews & Insights

We often send client information to external entities (other agencies, non-profit organizations, etc). While the detailed data is required (they need to be able to drill down from the summary information), there's no need to provide the real name, real SSN, real address, etc. However, we have to maintain referential integrity with the data (that is, if Steve Parker is being masked as John Smith, we need all instances of Steve Parker to yield John Smith). The Oracle Data Masking tool allows us to do just that. We also use it now to create a development/test copy of production data, without risking exposing HIPAA information. Since the access to dev/test environments is not as tight as the access to production, the masking relieves us from worrying about exposing client information in less-secured environments.

The tool is excellent when you need to provide all the details about your clients, yet hide their identity - all while maintaining the referential integrity of the data (so child-records of the masked parent record and maintain the same fake ID of the parent).