You need production-like test data without exposing PII. Describe a safe masking strategy and where to apply it.

Problem Statement

Explanation

Mask or anonymize in the database before export or restore. Replace direct identifiers (email, phone, name) with deterministic but fake values so joins and uniqueness still work. Randomize quasi-identifiers and dates within safe bands to preserve distribution while breaking re-identification. Automate the process as a repeatable pipeline. Store the masking logic in version control, run it as part of backup-to-test jobs, and restrict access to the pre-masked dump only. Validate that constraints and key relationships remain intact after masking.

Code Solution

SolutionRead Only

UPDATE users
SET email = CONCAT('user', id, '@example.test'),
    phone = LPAD(id::text, 10, '0');

Practice Sets

This question appears in the following practice sets:

Security, Backup & Recovery (DBA Essentials)

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You need production-like test data without exposing PII. Describe a safe masking strategy and where to apply it.

Problem Statement

Explanation

Code Solution

Practice Sets

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Master Interviews Anywhere, Anytime

You need production-like test data without exposing PII. Describe a safe masking strategy and where to apply it.

Problem Statement

Explanation

Code Solution

Practice Sets

Related Questions

Which SQL statement retrieves all columns and rows from a table named employees?

Which clause filters rows before aggregation and affects which rows are grouped?

What is the default sort order when ORDER BY is used without ASC or DESC?

Which construct is commonly used to paginate results in SQL engines like Postgres and MySQL?

Which predicate correctly checks for missing values in standard SQL?

More from SQL & Databases

Master Interviews
Anywhere, Anytime