What data-security measure uses a unique algorithm to alter data and make it inaccessible without the algorithm?

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Multiple Choice

What data-security measure uses a unique algorithm to alter data and make it inaccessible without the algorithm?

Encryption hides information by transforming readable data with a specific algorithm and a key into ciphertext. Without applying the corresponding algorithm and key, the data remains unreadable. This reversible process protects data both at rest and in transit, ensuring that only authorized parties with the key can restore the original content. Hashing, in contrast, is a one-way function useful for integrity checks, not for hiding data. Backups are copies of data for recovery and don’t inherently conceal content. Tokenization replaces sensitive data with non-sensitive placeholders, but it isn’t the same reversible scrambling as encryption. So encryption is the measure that uses an algorithm to alter data and make it inaccessible without the algorithm and key.

Encryption hides information by transforming readable data with a specific algorithm and a key into ciphertext. Without applying the corresponding algorithm and key, the data remains unreadable. This reversible process protects data both at rest and in transit, ensuring that only authorized parties with the key can restore the original content. Hashing, in contrast, is a one-way function useful for integrity checks, not for hiding data. Backups are copies of data for recovery and don’t inherently conceal content. Tokenization replaces sensitive data with non-sensitive placeholders, but it isn’t the same reversible scrambling as encryption. So encryption is the measure that uses an algorithm to alter data and make it inaccessible without the algorithm and key.

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