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Tokenization
Security
Replacing sensitive data with a safe placeholder.
Definition
Tokenization replaces sensitive data (like a card number) with a random-looking token.
In plain English
Replacing sensitive data with a safe placeholder.
Why this matters
Why it matters: If attackers steal the token, it’s much less useful without the system that maps it back.
Example
Example: A payment system stores a token instead of your full credit card number.