Sentinel Data Masking For UAT

Fast and flexible masking of large amounts of personal and sensitive data for User Acceptance Testing (UAT)

The Sentinel Data Masking Scrambling utility provides a fast, flexible and efficient means of obfuscating large amounts of personal (and personal sensitive) data, in an integrated way, across a variety of test systems on your landscape. It provides risk-free use of personal data in testing across multiple systems, allowing UAT to progress with safe, realistic and compliant data.

By masking a person's record, it is made anonymous so the original person cannot be identified, yet the data is still realistic. This allows you to conduct safe and reliable testing on IT systems that hold and process personal data, without breaching the Data Protection Act (1998).

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Understanding your options

We can help to quickly and confidently assess whether your project can use scrambled data or whether it must use some aspects of real personal data as part of the solution testing. Such analysis and findings are fully documented to provide a detailed audit trail for your project.

Safe use of real personal data

Where real data is required, we can help create the appropriate processes and test systems to help protect this data. If required, we can even host a 'Walled Garden' test system in our secure server environment.

Consistent scrambling

Where personal data can be scrambled, it should be. We can do this for you in a quick and reliable way using our powerful scrambling utility. We can even scramble data in a consistent way across many source systems to provide an integrated test landscape.

Safely anonymising data in project testing

We provide comprehensive data consultancy support for IT projects, including the ability to safely use personal data in project testing phases.

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We can support or lead on all aspects of a project's test data requirements from the initial analysis and profiling, any data scrambling/data anonymisation requirements (including reconciliation and compliance checking) or advising on test system setup and data transfer to protect real personal data where it must be used.

Our services are supported by our own Data Scrambling Utility, which has been designed to support any IT project that requires anonymised personal data, regardless of the systems and databases involved.

By selectively scrambling and moving the contents of every field, the Utility will ensure project testing phases are as realistic as possible, whilst ensuring they comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act.

Data Masking (Scrambling)

What is it?

Data masking and obfuscation is the replacement of sensitive data. Because of data security requirements, live and sensitive data is not appropriate for User Acceptance Testing (UAT) use. However, UAT still requires useable data to complete thorough testing. Our Data Masking service solves this problem by scrambling data – preserving the structure and form of the data whilst concealing sensitive information. Creating a database of realistic ‘dummy’ records.

Mask data using a consistent matrix of transformations to keep data consistent throughout the system without exposing personal identifying data. Because of this consistency the data is useable across multiple databases – the ‘dummy’ records of John Simms are identical across the landscape, allowing relational and process focussed testing.

Preserve structure and format of data, dates remain dates, names remain names, not just random text. By preserving the data structure, it is usable as ‘real data’ in UAT context.

How we do it

We can run customer data through a masking matrix to repeatably and consistently transform data from true personal data to a masked form that can be used and exposed safely to test systems and many employees without violating GDPR.

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Data Project Services

Let Sentinel Partners take the risk out of your data projects

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Capabilities (Features/Benefits)

  • By preventing personal and sensitive information being accessible, our Data Masking software allows in depth testing be carried out without contravening GDPR compliance
  • Allows you to consistently scramble live data for UAT purposes
  • Allows the testing landscape to be used without risk
  • Names and DOB can be consistently scrambled
  • Defaults to single dummy values. Other sensitive information can be defaulted to dummy data, such as email and telephone numbers, so there is no risk of miscommunication in the system
  • Works on any UAT landscape
  • Simultaneous obfuscations of multiple databases
  • Fast masking and obfuscation for repeated live data refreshes to be scrambled for UAT
  • Defaults for all
  • Consistent conversions across all systems, preserving the database relationships so landscape network functionalities are preserved
  • Strict control and monitoring of data quality and completeness
  • Built using the ICO’s ‘data protection by design’ approach
  • Trusted by public sector organisations and local authorities
  • Experienced, dedicated team of data integration and data sharing specialists
  • Our Portals are available in over 50 different languages (such as German, Romanian, Polish, or Italian). Choose the language that best serves your organisation.
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What is Data Masking?

November 2022 | Blog


Data masking is referred to in many ways, redaction, obfuscation, scrambling, de-identification to name a few.  It’s the process of obscuring the meaning of data as an added layer of data protection when developing, testing or for use in live systems (for example shielded customers).


Read more


Transform data use in your organisation

Book your free data assessment today, and find out how much of an impact Sentinel's Master Data Management tools can have on your business.

  • Strict control and monitoring of data quality
    and completeness
  • Built using the ICO's "data protection by design"
    approach
  • Trusted by public sector organisations and local authorities
  • Experienced, dedicated team of data integration and data sharing specialists

Take the hassle out of data management. Call us on +44(0)800 612 2116 or email us [email protected].