Format-Preserving Encryption

ENCRYPT SENSITIVE DATA. MAINTAIN ORIGINAL FORMAT.

Protegrity’s enterprise Format-Preserving Encryption (FPE) solution encrypts sensitive data while retaining its original format — ensuring secure processing for structured data and allowing it to fit into existing workflows without requiring costly modifications.
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What You Need
To Know About Format-Preserving Encryption

What It Is

FPE encrypts sensitive data while ensuring the encrypted output retains the original data’s format and structure, enabling compatibility with existing database schemas and applications.

When to Use It

FPE is ideal for securing structured data, like account numbers or healthcare IDs, especially in legacy systems and when preserving the original data format is crucial for applications and workflows.

Why It Matters

FPE ensures secure processing and compliance by maintaining data usability and integration with existing systems, without requiring schema modifications.

The Protegrity Advantage

OUR UNIQUE APPROACH TO FORMAT-PRESERVING ENCRYPTION

Protegrity’s FPE solution fits into the Protegrity Data Protection Platform, offering robust data protection while ensuring seamless integration and high performance across diverse data environments.
01
NIST-Approved Encryption
Utilizes the NIST-approved FF1 mode of AES-256 encryption, ensuring strong cryptographic protection for your sensitive data.
02
Centralized Management & Decentralized Protection
A single policy protects all data types, simplifying management and ensuring consistent security. Encrypted data moves freely across platforms, ensuring secure data use without vendor lock-in.
03
Built for Speed & Scale
Supports structured data, real-time operations, and enterprise-wide adoption across cloud, hybrid, and on-premise environments.
04
Vendor-Agnostic Integration
Designed to integrate seamlessly with any cloud, any AI/ML pipeline, or SaaS application.
05
Aligned to Compliance and Data Privacy Frameworks
Accelerates adherence to PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR by reducing sensitive data exposure.

    HOW FORMAT-PRESERVING ENCRYPTION WORKS

    FPE converts sensitive data into an encrypted format that retains its original structure and length, making it compatible with existing database schemas and applications.
    Utilizes NIST-approved FF1 mode of AES-256 encryption.
    Encrypts data blocks while preserving specific structural elements, such as delimiters in dates or SSNs.
    Allows secure processing of structured data while maintaining usability for critical applications.

      Why Use Format-Preserving Encryption?

      FPE offers distinct advantages for organizations needing to secure sensitive structured data:

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      Schema compatibility

      FPE maintains the original data format, eliminating the need for costly schema modifications in existing databases and applications.

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      Seamless integration

      Encrypted data with preserved format can easily integrate into existing workflows to protect operational continuity.

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      Compliance for structured data

      FPE is particularly effective for securing structured data like credit card numbers, SSNs, and other PII and PHI, supporting PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR requirements.

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      Secure data mobility

      FPE enables secure transfer of sensitive data, such as for offshoring analytics, by protecting it while preserving the structure needed for analysis.

      When Should You Use Format-Preserving Encryption?

      FPE is ideal for protecting highly sensitive structured data in situations where access is rare but the data must maintain its original format for specific system requirements or historical integrity.
      01
      PCI Compliance
      Retailers and e-commerce platforms secure payment card data by encrypting credit card information with FPE to comply with PCI DSS standards.
      02
      Archived Medical Records (PHI)
      Securing historical medical records that are rarely accessed but must retain their format for compliance or future audits.
      03
      Personal Identity Details (PII)
      Protecting PII that is used only in specific compliance or legal situations and requires strict FPE.
      04
      Legacy System Integration
      Integrating modern security into legacy systems that depend on specific data formats.
      05
      Offshoring Analytics
      Sending sensitive structured datasets offshore for advanced analytics; FPE ensures data remains secure while preserving structure needed for analysis.
      06
      Cloud Migrations
      Protect sensitive data during cloud migrations with format-preserving cryptographic techniques.
        Choosing the Right Prtection Method

        HOW FPE COMPARES TO OTHER METHODS

        Not all data requires the same level—or type—of protection. While access control, data masking, and other techniques each play a role in a modern data protection strategy, FPE offers unique advantages for high-value, high-risk structured data that must maintain its format. Explore how vaultless tokenization stacks up against other methods—and when each is the right fit. Explore how FPE stacks up against other methods—and when each is the right fit.

        Unstructured Data Protection

        Vaultless Tokenization

        Data Anonymization

        Dynamic Data Masking

        Format-Preserving Encryption

        Data Pseudonymization

        The Protegrity Data Protection Platform

        Explore Data-Centric Data Protection

        The Protegrity Platform delivers comprehensive governance and field-level data protection within a modular framework that fits your data environment, enabling a fit-for-purpose approach to data security and privacy.

        Discovery

        Identify sensitive data (PII, PHI, PCI, IP) across structured and unstructured sources using ML and rule-based classification.

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        Governance

        Define and manage access and protection policies based on role, region, or data type—centrally enforced and audited across systems.

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        Protection

        Apply field-level protection methods—like tokenization, encryption, or masking—through enforcement points such as native integrations, proxies, or SDKs.

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        Privacy

        Support analytics and AI by removing or transforming identifiers using anonymization, pseudonymization, or synthetic data generation—balancing privacy with utility.

        Learn More

        Take the next step

        See how Protegrity’s fine grain data protection solutions can enable your data security, compliance, sharing, and analytics.

        Get an online or custom live demo.

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