Data Protection Techniques

Geographic Restrictions

• Policy decisions based on location of data and user.
• Use of IP address and subnets to determine user location.
  • Accurate in private networks.
  • Challenging for mobile devices.
• Geolocation technologies:
  • GPS for precise location.
  • 802.11 wireless databases for identifying location through SSIDs.

Geofencing

• Access control based on physical location.
• Policies may restrict data access to specific locations (e.g., corporate facilities).

Importance of Data Protection

• Crucial for business continuity.
• Data is distributed across various locations:
  • Storage drives, networks, CPUs, and memory.
• Use of encryption and security policies to protect data.

Encryption

• Converts plaintext to unreadable ciphertext.
• Requires decryption keys for restoring original data.
• Concept of confusion: substantial change from original data.
• Example: "hello world" encrypted using PGP.

Hashing

• Represents data as a string of text (message digest/fingerprint).
• Cannot recreate original data from a hash.
• Used for password storage and file integrity checks.
• Example: SHA-256 algorithm producing distinct hashes for similar inputs to avoid collisions.

Obfuscation

• Makes understandable data difficult to interpret.
• Protects code bases and hides malicious scripts.
• Example: PHP code obfuscation.

Data Masking

• Hides portions of data, often used for protecting sensitive information.
• Example: Credit card receipts showing only last four digits.

Tokenization

• Replaces sensitive information with tokens.
• Used in payment systems like mobile phones and smartwatches.
• Tokens are one-time use, preventing reuse if intercepted.

Data Segmentation

• Separates data into smaller, secure databases to limit damage from breaches.
• Allows different security levels for different data types.

Permission Restrictions

• Rights and permissions associated with user accounts.
• Includes authentication factors and checks during login.
• Limits user access to certain data and functionalities.