Information to Remove Before Pasting
- API key, access token, private key, password
- Customer name, contact name, email address, phone number, address
- Internal domain, IP address, host name, file path
- Production database hosts, schema names, table names, and production data
- Project and organization names in comments or exception messages
Remove credentials before entering data into a masking tool. If credentials may have been exposed, revoke and reissue them instead of relying only on the masked output.
Masking and Anonymization Workflow
- Extract only the minimum content required for sharing.
- Choose the masking tool that matches the source format.
- Set the type of masking target and handling of comments and values.
- Search the entire output, including any sections you manually unmasked.
- Check for broken parentheses, quotes, JSON syntax, etc.
Final Check Before Sharing
- Choose several terms unique to the original data and confirm that none remain in the output.
- Check screenshots, file names, and the title of the destination as well.
- Run a syntax check on the masked code when possible.
- Confirm the recipients and intended visibility before sharing.
Specific example: Sharing code and logs for fault investigation
When sharing Java or Python source code and error logs, even if only the code is masked, the original class name or environment name may be revealed from the log's stack trace, URL, SQL, or file path.
- Extract only the code necessary for reproduction and the logs before and after the error occurred.
- Masking tools for code and log process according to each structure.
- Verify that identical customer IDs and session IDs map to the same dummy value.
- Search again for the original company name, project name, domain, IP, and email address in all results.
Don't assume that it's safe because there are hidden characters, but check to see if a third party can combine the remaining information to infer the organization, customer, or environment.
Frequently asked questions
- Is it okay to hide only part of the API key?
- As a general rule, we will delete and replace the entire content as it may lead to identification or misuse. If there is a possibility that the key has been compromised, please revoke the key and reissue it.
- Can I post the masking results directly to AI or a public issue?
- Automatic detection has limitations. Please manually search for original data-specific words, check the syntax, and check the scope of sharing before posting.
Related tools
- Java Code Masking Tool
- SQL Masking Tool
- JSON Masking Tool
- Log Masking Tool
- Python Code Masking Tool
- C# Code Masking Tool
- PHP Code Masking Tool
- VB.NET Code Masking Tool
- VBA Code Masking Tool
- Rust Code Masking Tool
- COBOL Code Masking Tool
- Bash Script Masking Tool
- Ruby Code Masking Tool
- Swift Code Masking Tool
- Objective-C Code Masking Tool