Data masking can be used to provide all of the following functionality, except:

Data masking serves as a technique to protect sensitive information by obfuscating it while retaining its functional value in various environments such as development, testing, and analytics. One of its key applications is to enable the use of real data in a way that does not expose sensitive information, which is particularly useful in sandboxed testing environments. By replacing sensitive data with non-sensitive data that has a similar format, organizations can ensure that individuals without the necessary permissions can still work with data for testing or analysis without risking exposure to actual sensitive information.

While data masking is highly effective in enforcing the principle of least privilege by ensuring that users only see data necessary for their role, as well as providing safe test data in sandboxed environments, it does not play a role in the authentication process of users. Authentication is the process of verifying the identity of a user or system, ensuring that only authorized individuals gain access to systems or data. Therefore, when it comes to securing remote access or validating privileged users, data masking is not applicable, distinguishing it from other functionalities that directly involve user access control and verification.