Why companies need to mask sensitive data and limit access to information
According to Exame, masking exchanges sensitive data for fictitious values and, with AI agents, controls must limit access to the originals.
BY THE X-TRADER NEWS NEWSROOM · REPORTING FROM EXAME · 2 MIN
Personal, financial and corporate data circulates every day through systems, spreadsheets and teams, and each unnecessary access increases the risk of leakage. According to Exame, one of the answers to this problem is data masking, a technique that replaces sensitive information with a modified or fictitious value.
The idea is simple to describe and requires care in execution. According to the report, the objective is to reduce the exposure of this information without making the tasks that depend on it unfeasible. Thus, those who work with analysis, service or development continue producing, without having to manipulate the original data.
According to Exame, Abilio Branco, director of data security at Thales in Brazil, recommends starting with diagnosis, that is, locating where sensitive information is within the organization. Next comes the review of access permissions, that is, the definition of who can see what.
Branco also suggests combining masking, tokenization and encryption. From reading the report, these techniques complement each other, because each one protects data in a different way, and none of them solves the entire problem alone.
The point that gains weight with the adoption of AI agents is access control. According to the report, in this scenario, controls must limit access to original data, so that automated systems do not have unrestricted access to the company's information bases.
What is at stake is the company's ability to use data to decide and grow without turning this advantage into a liability. Protecting sensitive information and keeping the operation running are objectives that, according to the logic presented in the report, need to go hand in hand.
What changes for the investor
The facts collected do not contain market figures, investment values or impact on prices, so there is no basis for estimating the effect on prices. What the agenda indicates is that data security tends to enter the risk analysis of companies that deal with customer and operational information, and that the way in which each company controls access to this data becomes a point to observe. This is a risk management and governance issue, not a buy or sell recommendation.
Automatically translated from Portuguese.
