MASKING SENSITIVE DATA FOR LOGGING

1 . A method for protecting data, the method comprising operations performed using an electronic processor, the operations comprising:

receiving a plurality of patterns;

receiving a request to log a string of text;

searching the string of text for a match using the plurality of patterns;

finding a first substring of the string of text that is a match based on a first pattern of the plurality of patterns;

determining a first replacement string;

replacing within the string of text the first substring with the first replacement string; and

logging the string of text after the replacing to a log.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

finding a second substring of the string of text that is a match based on a second pattern of the plurality of patterns;

determining a second replacement string;

replacing, prior to the logging, the second substring of the string of text with the second replacement string.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a length of the first replacement string is different from a length of the first substring.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining a first replacement string comprises randomly determining a length, wherein the random length is the length of the first replacement string.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

reading a length of the first replacement string from a configuration file, wherein the length of the first replacement string is associated with the first pattern.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first replacement string is a string comprising one character.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the first replacement string comprises:

encrypting the first substring with a first cryptography algorithm; and

creating a first security prefix based on the first cryptography algorithm, wherein the first replacement string comprises the first security prefix and the encrypted first substring.

8 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

reading the first security prefix and the encrypted first substring from the log;

determining the first cryptography algorithm from the first security prefix; and

decrypting the first substring using the first cryptography algorithm.

9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

encrypting the first substring value with a first cryptography algorithm; and

storing the encrypted first substring.

10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

creating a first security prefix based on the first cryptography algorithm; and

storing the first security prefix and the encrypted substring in the single field in a table of a database.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the request to log a string of text is from legacy software that is insecurely logging personal information.

12 . A system to protect data, the system comprising:

an electronic processor configured to:

receive a plurality of patterns;

receive a request to log a string of text;

search the string of text for a match using the plurality of patterns;

find a first substring of the string of text that is a match based on a first pattern of the plurality of patterns;

determine a first replacement string;

replace within the string of text the first substring with the first replacement string; and

log the string of text after the replacing to a log.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the electronic processor is further configured to:

find a second substring of the string of text that is a match based on a second pattern of the plurality of patterns;

determine a second replacement string;

replace, prior to the logging, the second substring of the string of text with the second replacement string.

14 . The system of claim 12 , wherein a length of the first replacement string is different from a length of the first substring.

15 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the electronic processor is further configured to read a length of the first replacement string from a configuration file, wherein the length of the first replacement string is associated with the first pattern.

16 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the electronic processor is further configured to:

encrypt the first substring with a first cryptography algorithm; and

create a first security prefix based on the first cryptography algorithm, wherein the first replacement string comprises the first security prefix and the encrypted first substring.

17 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving a plurality of patterns;

receiving a request to log a string of text;

searching the string of text for a match using the plurality of patterns;

finding a first substring of the string of text that is a match based on a first pattern of the plurality of patterns;

determining a first replacement string;

replacing within the string of text the first substring with the first replacement string; and

logging the string of text after the replacing to a log.

18 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the operations further comprise:

finding a second substring of the string of text that is a match based on a second pattern of the plurality of patterns;

determining a second replacement string;

replacing, prior to the logging, the second substring of the string of text with the second replacement string.

19 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the operations further comprise reading a length of the first replacement string from a configuration file, wherein the length of the first replacement string is associated with the first pattern.

20 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19 , wherein the operations further comprise:

encrypting the first substring with a first cryptography algorithm; and

creating a first security prefix based on the first cryptography algorithm, wherein the first replacement string comprises the first security prefix and the encrypted first substring.