Which term refers to the scrambling of data to protect it from unwanted views?

• A. Encoding
• B. Hashing
• C. Encryption
• D. Compression

Answer: (C)

Protecting data confidentiality is achieved through encryption. Encryption scrambles plaintext into ciphertext using a key, and only someone with the correct key can reverse the process to recover the original data. This ensures that even if data is intercepted, it remains unread by unauthorized viewers. Encoding changes data into a different format for compatibility or safe transmission and is reversible with a decoder, but it isn’t meant to obscure content. Hashing produces a fixed-length digest to verify integrity and is designed to be one-way, so the original data cannot be recreated from the hash. Compression reduces size for efficiency and isn’t intended to hide information. Encryption is the mechanism that provides actual protection against unwanted views.