Data Masking Components: Dictionary Substitution

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"Dictionary Substitution"

API Reference, CLR Reference (links)

Usage Instructions:

Purpose

The purpose of the component is to mask such values as Account or Patient Numbers that often consist of the combination of Alpha and Numeric characters and are not formed by a specific rule.

Algorithm

Variation of Preserving Referential Integrity Substitution SUBSTITUTION PRESERVING REFERENTIAL INTEGRITY

Description

Mask Dictionary Substitution component uses a custom dictionary defined by the user for substitution values. It substitutes based on an indicated key and in such manner preserves the referential integrity.

Usage Instructions:

1. Configure the source component that you want to mask with your custom data in the variable.
2. Open Mask Dictionary Substitution component’s editor, by either double clicking on the component or right-click and choose edit. Select the variable that contains the dictionary from the drop down:
3. In Input Columns Tab, select the column you want to mask with the values in the dictionary.
4. Now that the metadata for the Masking Dictionary Substitution exists, in Shuffle Columns Tab, map input column from the source to the one in the Dictionary Substitution component. :
5. The component’s output columns now contain Masked_column_name columns, possessing all the masked values.
6. Map the proper columns in the destination component.
7. Run the package.

Error Handling

9. If, however, there are invalid values in the package's source, one would need to configure error handling. Invalid values are those that are not conforming to the rules of the entity. To handle invalid values, each data masking component has error handling precedence constraint. One needs to create error destination connection and connect red arrow (error handling constraint) with this destination. As the connection is made, one needs to configure the state of failure: “Fail”,”Ignore” or “Redirect”.

10. It is recommended that one re-directs the output into the error destination, so that later one be able to analyze and process data for quality purposes. The Generic Alpha Numeric components errors are the only ones not recommended for further processing as it is truly hard to break their format.

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