{"id":6365,"date":"2014-11-26T09:44:31","date_gmt":"2014-11-26T14:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/?p=6365"},"modified":"2026-02-23T14:43:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T19:43:29","slug":"secure-then-splunk-a-format-preserving-encryption-and-pseduonymization-example","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/secure-then-splunk-a-format-preserving-encryption-and-pseduonymization-example\/","title":{"rendered":"Secure, Then Splunk &#8211; A Format-Preserving Encryption and Pseduonymization Example"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Introduction: This example demonstrates an older method of using IRI FieldShield to protect sensitive data prior to indexing the data in Splunk. As you will read, FieldShield would process the data outside of Splunk and create a CSV file for Splunk&#8217;s ingestion. However, you can also use the Voracity (= FieldShield) <strong>add-on<\/strong> for seamless data preparation, indexing, and visualization in Splunk (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-transformation2\/iri-voracity-add-on-for-splunk\/\">details here<\/a>), or Splunk Universal <strong>Forwarder<\/strong> to send FieldShield targets and logs into Splunk automatically (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/business-intelligence\/forward-voracity-data-into-splunk\/\">details here<\/a>)!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>One of the concerns Splunk users have is that data they index is stored by,\u00a0and thus to some extent, under the control of, Splunk. Before they upload, however,\u00a0<a title=\"FieldShield Product Page\" href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/products\/fieldshield\">IRI FieldShield<\/a> users can protect their\u00a0data so Splunk (or potentially those hacking into Splunk servers) cannot compromise it. The user&#8217;s original data, FieldShield executables, job scripts, and encryption keys all remain inside user firewalls &#8212;\u00a0local to their machines, and not necessarily even connected to the internet\u00a0&#8212; where it is much harder to find, much less compromise, those things too.<\/p>\n<p>Splunk is a cloud-based analytic platform that indexes\u00a0and displays user data. The data uploaded to Splunk\u2019s can be searched and visualized\u00a0in an internet browser. Because your data that you analyze in Splunk is hosted on its servers, you\u00a0may have concerns about the security of that\u00a0data.<\/p>\n<p>Splunk does offer some encryption and certificate authentication when sending data back and forth, but not all types of communication are secured\u00a0by default. Enabling additional protection requires proper configuration by the admin. The table below defines the types of communication security and what is enabled by default.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6368\" class=\"thumbnail wp-caption aligncenter style=\"width: 610px\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image002-e1417012269572.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6368 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image002-e1417012269572.png\" alt=\"Configuration scenarios in a table from Splunk documentation\" width=\"600\" height=\"370\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"caption wp-caption-text\">http:\/\/docs.splunk.com\/Documentation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The default Splunk root certificate uses a private key that\u00a0is the same for every Splunk user, and can be easily accessed. Possession of a certificate authority\u2019s private key allows attackers to generate certificates signed by the trusted authority, which would defeat attempts to control authentication via public key infrastructure (PKI).<\/p>\n<p>When sensitive data needs to be stored by any third party, you may want to\u00a0secure your data before it reaches their network.\u00a0IRI FieldShield, and its parent <a title=\"CoSort Product Overview Page\" href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/products\/cosort\/overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IRI\u00a0CoSort<\/a> data manipulation and management package, apply\u00a0multiple\u00a0data masking functions prior to\u00a0Splunk indexing. Field-level protections like format-preserving encryption (FPE), redaction, and pseudonymization are among 12 categories of data-centric security functions supported by FieldShield in its <a href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/products\/workbench\/fieldshield-gui\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Eclipse GUI<\/a> dialogs.<\/p>\n<p>FieldShield functions\u00a0can be applied to entire rows, or only those columns\/fields that need it. FPE\u00a0maintains the data in the same size and format, complete with separator characters, where numbers and letters are in the same places within the string.\u00a0This allows the data to be used in Splunk\u2019s charting and analytic capabilities, while keeping it\u00a0secure. FPE is also reversible, so that after data is used\u00a0or displayed by Splunk,\u00a0applicable fields can be decrypted by only those authorized to recover it.<\/p>\n<p>The example below shows how selected\u00a0fields can be protected, indexed, and stored securely in Splunk, then extracted\u00a0and\u00a0decrypted. Using FieldShield\u00a0FPE,\u00a0personal <strong>ID<\/strong> and <strong>Credit Card<\/strong> data are\u00a0encrypted in the same format as the original data. People&#8217;s names are\u00a0replaced with realistic, but not real, name data via\u00a0reversible pseudonymization.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Original Data<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image004-e1417012497590.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6369\" src=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image004-e1417012497590.png\" alt=\"image004\" width=\"600\" height=\"245\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Format-Preserved Encrypted (ID and CC_NUMBER) &amp; Pseudonymized (NAME) Data\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image006-e1417012473702.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6370\" src=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image006-e1417012473702.png\" alt=\"image006\" width=\"600\" height=\"246\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>ID and credit card values have the same length after encryption, each character\u00a0was\u00a0retained as either a number or letter, and separator characters are unchanged. Since the name data must adhere to the traditional naming conventions, pseudonymization was used. An external list of names substitutes\u00a0for the original names. Both sets get combined in a lookup file for pseudonymization, and an opposite\u00a0restore set for later\u00a0reversal outside Splunk.<\/p>\n<p>To prepare and secure your data\u00a0for Splunk indexing, use FieldShield specification files or job scripts to apply the functions you need to the fields in your data. You can write the source and target layouts and protections easily by hand or have the GUI do it automatically through job wizards and point-and-click dialogs.<\/p>\n<p>FieldShield inputs can be\u00a0database tables, files, or a combination of both. See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/workbench\/data-sources\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this list<\/a> of IRI-supported data sources. Source formats are specified in the input section of a script, while protections and new formats are specified in the output section. Any number of targets and formats are supported.<\/p>\n<p>An\u00a0AES-256 FPE function applied to an &#8220;ID&#8221; field might look like this:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image008.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-6371 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image008-e1417012616107.png\" alt=\"image008\" width=\"608\" height=\"13\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Though the output field name is changed to reflect its newly encrypted state, the name of the input field &#8220;ID&#8221; is required, along with the name of the protection function and formatting attributes. Note that the encryption key, or &#8220;passphrase&#8221; in this case is maintained in a separate, securable file (called pass_id in this case), and not exposed in the script &#8212; though both an explicit key and\/or environment variables are also options.<\/p>\n<p>Pseudonymization in FieldShield uses\u00a0&#8216;set&#8217;\u00a0files populated with values that fit the criteria associated with the original data field. In this case, <strong>names_first_last.set<\/strong>, contains first and last names. FieldShield creates a two-column lookup file, <strong>name_psuedo.set<\/strong>, that combines the original and substitute names\u00a0for pre-Splunk pseudonymization, and the converse\u00a0<strong>name_restore.set<\/strong>\u00a0file for post-Splunk restoration:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image014-e1417012686148.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6374\" src=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image014-e1417012686148.png\" alt=\"image014\" width=\"586\" height=\"12\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>These functions are both specified in our\u00a0FieldShield job&#8217;s output file, <strong>transactions_safe.csv<\/strong>, in a Splunk-ready layout:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image016-e1417012719573.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6375\" src=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image016-e1417012719573.png\" alt=\"image016\" width=\"600\" height=\"90\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Once the partially encrypted and pseudonymized file is created, you can then index it into Splunk. Splunk will recognize the CSV format and\u00a0automatically\u00a0append a timestamp to each entry:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image018-e1417012762710.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6376\" src=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image018-e1417012762710.png\" alt=\"image018\" width=\"600\" height=\"228\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Once in Splunk, you can search through the data and customize analytic functions and report displays. Meanwhile, the data you protected in FieldShield will be safe but not hinder the layout or appearance of the data.\u00a0Other users may not even know that the personalizing data was\u00a0encrypted or\u00a0psuedonymized.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image020-e1417012802769.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6377\" src=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image020-e1417012802769.png\" alt=\"image020\" width=\"600\" height=\"65\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image022-e1417012816117.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6378\" src=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image022-e1417012816117.png\" alt=\"image022\" width=\"600\" height=\"145\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>After filtering the data, use the <strong>pipe<\/strong> \u201c|\u201d character to start a function. Splunk&#8217;s\u00a0<strong>Chart <\/strong>function\u00a0allows you to create and customize graphics to your liking. You can then add those\u00a0graphics and statistics to a <strong>dashboard<\/strong> for fast and easy analysis.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image027-e1417012894291.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6381\" src=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image027-e1417012894291.png\" alt=\"image027\" width=\"600\" height=\"291\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>To recover the original data values, use Splunk to search for your files or indexed fields, and export them:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image029-e1417012949647.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6382\" src=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image029-e1417012949647.png\" alt=\"image029\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A form will appear where you can designate the filename and format:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image031-e1417012988129.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6383\" src=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image031-e1417012988129.png\" alt=\"image031\" width=\"600\" height=\"524\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The exported file will be sent to your <strong>Downloads <\/strong>folder with the fields ordered alphabetically. Use a FieldShield script like this to restore the field order, decrypt the ID and CC values using the corresponding algorithm and original key (passphrase\/file\/EV),\u00a0and reverse the pseudonyms via the restore set:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image033-e1417013023634.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6384\" src=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image033-e1417013023634.png\" alt=\"image033\" width=\"600\" height=\"238\" \/><\/a>Running this job from the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/products\/workbench\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IRI Workbench<\/a> GUI or command line will restore your data and its field layout\u00a0to its original state:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image035-e1417013051284.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6366\" src=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/image035-e1417013051284.png\" alt=\"image035\" width=\"600\" height=\"233\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Note that multiple target files or tables could have been specified in this same job as well, with recovery scripts and keys provided only to the\u00a0authorized recipients of particular field values. You can also modify the sort order with CoSort&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.iri.com\/products\/cosort\/sortcl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SortCL<\/a> program, if you use it\u00a0instead, since SortCL is the parent engine that\u00a0runs FieldShield jobs while extended their capabilities.<\/p>\n<p>For\u00a0more information on the interaction between IRI Workbench software like FieldShield and Splunk, or other applications, email <a href=\"mailto:fieldshield@iri.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fieldshield@iri.com<\/a>, or submit your comment below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction: This example demonstrates an older method of using IRI FieldShield to protect sensitive data prior to indexing the data in Splunk. As you will read, FieldShield would process the data outside of Splunk and create a CSV file for Splunk&#8217;s ingestion. However, you can also use the Voracity (= FieldShield) add-on for seamless data<\/p>\n<div><a class=\"btn-filled btn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/secure-then-splunk-a-format-preserving-encryption-and-pseduonymization-example\/\" title=\"Secure, Then Splunk &#8211; A Format-Preserving Encryption and Pseduonymization Example\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":11683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,8,2255],"tags":[13,15,203,98,97,585,546,520,584,586,574,582,583],"class_list":["post-6365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-intelligence","category-data-protection","category-archived-articles","tag-data-protection-2","tag-data-security","tag-encryption","tag-format-preserving-encryption","tag-fpe","tag-indexing","tag-iri-cosort","tag-iri-fieldshield","tag-machine-generated-big-data","tag-reversible-pseudonymization","tag-splunk","tag-structured","tag-unstructured"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v23.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Secure, Then Splunk - A Format-Preserving Encryption and Pseduonymization Example - IRI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iri.com\/blog\/data-protection\/secure-then-splunk-a-format-preserving-encryption-and-pseduonymization-example\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Secure, Then Splunk - A Format-Preserving Encryption and Pseduonymization Example\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Introduction: This example demonstrates an older method of using IRI FieldShield to protect sensitive data prior to indexing the data in Splunk. As you will read, FieldShield would process the data outside of Splunk and create a CSV file for Splunk&#8217;s ingestion. 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