What technique is used to hide data from unauthorized access?

Data obfuscation is the technique used to hide data from unauthorized access by making it unintelligible or confusing. This process involves transforming the data in such a way that it cannot be easily interpreted or understood without the correct means to reverse the transformation. This is essential in protecting sensitive information, as even if the data is intercepted, it would be rendered useless without the proper method to de-obfuscate it.

Obfuscation methods can include altering the data format, using algorithms to replace values, or employing various techniques to mask the actual data while still allowing it to be utilized for certain applications. The primary goal is to maintain data confidentiality while still allowing authorized users to perform necessary operations without exposing them to potential security risks.

Data encryption, while also aimed at protecting data, specifically transforms readable data into a coded version using keys, which is not necessarily the same as obfuscation. Data backup refers to creating copies of data for recovery purposes, while data mining involves analyzing large datasets to extract useful information, neither of which focus on concealing data from unauthorized access.