Segmented mapping

1. A method, executed on a computer processor, for irreversibly masking data comprising:

receiving a mapping scheme comprising a number of segments and a different cryptographic algorithm for each segment, wherein the number of segments of the mapping scheme and lengths of each segment are determined randomly;

receiving a target value to be masked;

splitting the target value into a number of segments based on the number of segments of the mapping scheme;

applying the cryptographic algorithm for each segment in the mapping scheme to each segment of the target value to generate an encrypted segment for each segment in the target value; and

concatenating the encrypted segments to create a masked value.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the cryptographic algorithm for a segment comprises:

creating a table comprising rows of mask values, wherein the number of rows of the table corresponds to the length of each segment;

creating a random number for each row in the table;

sorting the rows of the table based on the random number associated with each row; and

performing a lookup function using a value of a segment of the target value as an index for the table to retrieve a mask value of a particular row.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the cryptographic algorithm for a segment comprises:

creating a first table comprising all possible values for a variable of length equal to the length of the segment;

creating a second table comprising rows of mask values, wherein the number of rows of the second table corresponds to a number of all possible values for the variable of length equal to the length of the segment;

creating a random number for each row in the second table;

sorting the rows of the second table based on the random number associated with each row;

joining the first table and the second table such that each possible value is paired with a mask value; and

performing a lookup function using a value of a segment of the target value as an index for the table to retrieve a mask value of a particular row.

4. A computer program product, tangibly embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, for irreversibly masking data, the computer program product including instructions operable to cause a data processing apparatus to:

receive a mapping scheme comprising a number of segments and a different cryptographic algorithm for each segment, wherein the number of segments of the mapping scheme and lengths of each segment are determined randomly;

receive a target value to be masked;

split the target value into a number of segments based on the number of segments of the mapping scheme;

apply the cryptographic algorithm for each segment in the mapping scheme to each segment of the target value to generate an encrypted segment for each segment in the target value; and

concatenate the encrypted segments to create a masked value.

5. The computer program product of claim 4 , wherein the cryptographic algorithm instructions are operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:

create a table comprising rows of mask values, wherein the number of rows of the table corresponds to the length of each segment;

create a random number for each row in the table;

sort the rows of the table based on the random number associated with each row; and

perform a lookup function using a value of a segment of the target value as an index for the table to retrieve a mask value of a particular row.

6. The computer program product of claim 4 , wherein the cryptographic algorithm instructions are operable to cause the data processing apparatus to:

create a first table comprising all possible values for a variable of length equal to the length of the segment;

create a second table comprising rows of mask values, wherein the number of rows of the second table corresponds to a number of all possible values for the variable of length equal to the length of the first segment;

create a random number for each row in the second table;

sort the rows of the second table based on the random number associated with each row;

join the first table and the second table such that each possible value is paired with a mask value; and

perform a lookup function using a value of a segment of the target value as an index for the table to retrieve a mask value of a particular row.