{"id":110533,"date":"2026-05-12T13:02:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T13:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/?post_type=collection&#038;p=110533"},"modified":"2026-05-12T13:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T13:02:09","slug":"the-complete-guide-to-dynamic-data-masking-in-sql-server","status":"publish","type":"collection","link":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/collections\/the-complete-guide-to-dynamic-data-masking-in-sql-server\/","title":{"rendered":"The complete guide to Dynamic Data Masking in SQL Server"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Learn all about Dynamic Data Masking in SQL Server with Ben Johnston&#8217;s detailed guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"articles-list-block_d8a0b2a8dbb7776385784f9650a8ae41\" class=\"articles-list my-5xl\">\n    <div class=\"grid gap-3xl\">\n        <div class=\"@container\">\n    <article class=\"flex gap-2xl items-center flex-col @md:flex-row-reverse\">\n        <div class=\"w-full @md:w-1\/3 flex items-center justify-center peer\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/databases\/sql-server\/unmasking-sql-server-dynamic-data-masking-part-5-mitigations-and-summary\/\" aria-label=\"Unmasking SQL Server Dynamic Data Masking, Part 5: Mitigations and Summary\" class=\"no-underline relative aspect-3\/2 bg-gray-100 border border-gray-100 dark:border-gray-800 flex items-center justify-center flex-col gap-md w-full p-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"font-display-slab text-2xl text-base-black text-center w-full hyphens-auto\">SQL Server<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"w-24\" src=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-content\/themes\/simple-talk-theme-2024\/assets\/images\/logos\/st-logo.svg\" alt=\"Simple-Talk Logo\" width=\"153\" height=\"33\">\n\t\t\t<\/a>        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"w-full @md:w-2\/3 overflow-auto group\/content-text\">\n            \n<div class=\"block mb-md align-middle\">\n            \n        <a\n        href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/author\/ben-johnston\/\"\n        class=\"group\/author inline align-middle no-style min-w-fit\"\n        rel=\"author\"\n    >\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/2023-02-05-Ben-Headshot-0009-150x150.jpg\"\n            alt=\"Image of author: Ben Johnston\" \n            class=\"rounded-full align-middle w-6 h-6 duration-200 inline-block object-cover\"\/>\n        <span class=\"group-hover\/author:text-brand-600 peer\/ftr-image:text-brand-600 group-hover\/author:dark:text-brand-400 peer\/ftr-image:dark:text-brand-400 group-hover\/author:underline min-w-fit align-middle duration-200\">Ben Johnston<\/span>\n    <\/a>\n\n        <span class=\"card__categories align-middle\">\n                                                        <span class=\"text-gray-600 align-middle dark:text-gray-400\">in<\/span>\n                    <a\n                    class=\"inline align-middle no-underline hover:text-brand-600 hover:dark:text-brand-400 hover:underline\"\n                    href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/databases\/sql-server\/\">\n                            SQL Server                    <\/a>\n                                        <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<a class=\"no-underline group\/content-text-lower\" href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/databases\/sql-server\/unmasking-sql-server-dynamic-data-masking-part-5-mitigations-and-summary\/ \">\n    <div>\n        <h1 class=\"\n            duration-200 mt-0 mb-1 text-xl\n            \n            peer-hover:group-[]\/content-text:text-brand-600\n            group-hover\/content-text-lower:text-brand-600\n\n            peer-hover:group-[]\/content-text:dark:text-brand-400\n            group-hover\/content-text-lower:dark:text-brand-400\n            \n            peer-hover:group-[]\/content-text:underline\n            group-hover\/content-text-lower:underline\n            \n        \">\n            Unmasking SQL Server Dynamic Data Masking, Part 5: Mitigations and Summary        <\/h1>\n                    <p class=\"mb-0\">\n                This is the fifth and final part of this series on SQL Server Dynamic Data Masking. In this article, I&#8217;ll&#8230;            <\/p>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"flex items-center gap-1 mt-md\">\n            <time>30 July 2023<\/time>\n            <span class=\"w-1 h-1 bg-current\tinline-block my-auto rounded-full\"><\/span>\n            <span>12 min read<\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/a>        <\/div>\n    <\/article>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"@container\">\n    <article class=\"flex gap-2xl items-center flex-col @md:flex-row-reverse\">\n        <div class=\"w-full @md:w-1\/3 flex items-center justify-center peer\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/databases\/sql-server\/unmasking-sql-server-dynamic-data-masking-part-4-unmasking-formatted-and-unformatted-text\/\" aria-label=\"Unmasking SQL Server Dynamic Data Masking, Part 4, Unmasking Formatted and Unformatted Text\" class=\"no-underline relative aspect-3\/2 bg-gray-100 border border-gray-100 dark:border-gray-800 flex items-center justify-center flex-col gap-md w-full p-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"font-display-slab text-2xl text-base-black text-center w-full hyphens-auto\">SQL Server<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"w-24\" src=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-content\/themes\/simple-talk-theme-2024\/assets\/images\/logos\/st-logo.svg\" alt=\"Simple-Talk Logo\" width=\"153\" height=\"33\">\n\t\t\t<\/a>        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"w-full @md:w-2\/3 overflow-auto group\/content-text\">\n            \n<div class=\"block mb-md align-middle\">\n            \n        <a\n        href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/author\/ben-johnston\/\"\n        class=\"group\/author inline align-middle no-style min-w-fit\"\n        rel=\"author\"\n    >\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/2023-02-05-Ben-Headshot-0009-150x150.jpg\"\n            alt=\"Image of author: Ben Johnston\" \n            class=\"rounded-full align-middle w-6 h-6 duration-200 inline-block object-cover\"\/>\n        <span class=\"group-hover\/author:text-brand-600 peer\/ftr-image:text-brand-600 group-hover\/author:dark:text-brand-400 peer\/ftr-image:dark:text-brand-400 group-hover\/author:underline min-w-fit align-middle duration-200\">Ben Johnston<\/span>\n    <\/a>\n\n        <span class=\"card__categories align-middle\">\n                                                        <span class=\"text-gray-600 align-middle dark:text-gray-400\">in<\/span>\n                    <a\n                    class=\"inline align-middle no-underline hover:text-brand-600 hover:dark:text-brand-400 hover:underline\"\n                    href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/databases\/sql-server\/\">\n                            SQL Server                    <\/a>\n                                        <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<a class=\"no-underline group\/content-text-lower\" href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/databases\/sql-server\/unmasking-sql-server-dynamic-data-masking-part-4-unmasking-formatted-and-unformatted-text\/ \">\n    <div>\n        <h1 class=\"\n            duration-200 mt-0 mb-1 text-xl\n            \n            peer-hover:group-[]\/content-text:text-brand-600\n            group-hover\/content-text-lower:text-brand-600\n\n            peer-hover:group-[]\/content-text:dark:text-brand-400\n            group-hover\/content-text-lower:dark:text-brand-400\n            \n            peer-hover:group-[]\/content-text:underline\n            group-hover\/content-text-lower:underline\n            \n        \">\n            Unmasking SQL Server Dynamic Data Masking, Part 4, Unmasking Formatted and Unformatted Text        <\/h1>\n                    <p class=\"mb-0\">\n                Continuing from the previous entry in this series on security concerns with using Dynamic Data Masking, in this article I&#8230;            <\/p>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"flex items-center gap-1 mt-md\">\n            <time>27 June 2023<\/time>\n            <span class=\"w-1 h-1 bg-current\tinline-block my-auto rounded-full\"><\/span>\n            <span>30 min read<\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/a>        <\/div>\n    <\/article>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"@container\">\n    <article class=\"flex gap-2xl items-center flex-col @md:flex-row-reverse\">\n        <div class=\"w-full @md:w-1\/3 flex items-center justify-center peer\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/databases\/sql-server\/unmasking-sql-server-dynamic-data-masking-part-3-security-concerns\/\" aria-label=\"SQL Server DDM Security Risks: Side Channel Attacks and Partial Unmasking\" class=\"no-underline relative aspect-3\/2 bg-gray-100 border border-gray-100 dark:border-gray-800 flex items-center justify-center flex-col gap-md w-full p-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"font-display-slab text-2xl text-base-black text-center w-full hyphens-auto\">SQL Server<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"w-24\" src=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-content\/themes\/simple-talk-theme-2024\/assets\/images\/logos\/st-logo.svg\" alt=\"Simple-Talk Logo\" width=\"153\" height=\"33\">\n\t\t\t<\/a>        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"w-full @md:w-2\/3 overflow-auto group\/content-text\">\n            \n<div class=\"block mb-md align-middle\">\n            \n        <a\n        href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/author\/ben-johnston\/\"\n        class=\"group\/author inline align-middle no-style min-w-fit\"\n        rel=\"author\"\n    >\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/2023-02-05-Ben-Headshot-0009-150x150.jpg\"\n            alt=\"Image of author: Ben Johnston\" \n            class=\"rounded-full align-middle w-6 h-6 duration-200 inline-block object-cover\"\/>\n        <span class=\"group-hover\/author:text-brand-600 peer\/ftr-image:text-brand-600 group-hover\/author:dark:text-brand-400 peer\/ftr-image:dark:text-brand-400 group-hover\/author:underline min-w-fit align-middle duration-200\">Ben Johnston<\/span>\n    <\/a>\n\n        <span class=\"card__categories align-middle\">\n                                                        <span class=\"text-gray-600 align-middle dark:text-gray-400\">in<\/span>\n                    <a\n                    class=\"inline align-middle no-underline hover:text-brand-600 hover:dark:text-brand-400 hover:underline\"\n                    href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/databases\/sql-server\/\">\n                            SQL Server                    <\/a>\n                                        <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<a class=\"no-underline group\/content-text-lower\" href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/databases\/sql-server\/unmasking-sql-server-dynamic-data-masking-part-3-security-concerns\/ \">\n    <div>\n        <h1 class=\"\n            duration-200 mt-0 mb-1 text-xl\n            \n            peer-hover:group-[]\/content-text:text-brand-600\n            group-hover\/content-text-lower:text-brand-600\n\n            peer-hover:group-[]\/content-text:dark:text-brand-400\n            group-hover\/content-text-lower:dark:text-brand-400\n            \n            peer-hover:group-[]\/content-text:underline\n            group-hover\/content-text-lower:underline\n            \n        \">\n            SQL Server DDM Security Risks: Side Channel Attacks and Partial Unmasking        <\/h1>\n                    <p class=\"mb-0\">\n                SQL Server Dynamic Data Masking can be bypassed: learn how side channel attacks use range queries to infer masked values,&#8230;            <\/p>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"flex items-center gap-1 mt-md\">\n            <time>14 June 2023<\/time>\n            <span class=\"w-1 h-1 bg-current\tinline-block my-auto rounded-full\"><\/span>\n            <span>31 min read<\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/a>        <\/div>\n    <\/article>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"@container\">\n    <article class=\"flex gap-2xl items-center flex-col @md:flex-row-reverse\">\n        <div class=\"w-full @md:w-1\/3 flex items-center justify-center peer\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/databases\/sql-server\/unmasking-sql-server-dynamic-data-masking-part-2-setting-up-masking\/\" aria-label=\"SQL Server Dynamic Data Masking Setup Guide\" class=\"no-underline relative aspect-3\/2 bg-gray-100 border border-gray-100 dark:border-gray-800 flex items-center justify-center flex-col gap-md w-full p-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"font-display-slab text-2xl text-base-black text-center w-full hyphens-auto\">SQL Server<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"w-24\" src=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-content\/themes\/simple-talk-theme-2024\/assets\/images\/logos\/st-logo.svg\" alt=\"Simple-Talk Logo\" width=\"153\" height=\"33\">\n\t\t\t<\/a>        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"w-full @md:w-2\/3 overflow-auto group\/content-text\">\n            \n<div class=\"block mb-md align-middle\">\n            \n        <a\n        href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/author\/ben-johnston\/\"\n        class=\"group\/author inline align-middle no-style min-w-fit\"\n        rel=\"author\"\n    >\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/2023-02-05-Ben-Headshot-0009-150x150.jpg\"\n            alt=\"Image of author: Ben Johnston\" \n            class=\"rounded-full align-middle w-6 h-6 duration-200 inline-block object-cover\"\/>\n        <span class=\"group-hover\/author:text-brand-600 peer\/ftr-image:text-brand-600 group-hover\/author:dark:text-brand-400 peer\/ftr-image:dark:text-brand-400 group-hover\/author:underline min-w-fit align-middle duration-200\">Ben Johnston<\/span>\n    <\/a>\n\n        <span class=\"card__categories align-middle\">\n                                                        <span class=\"text-gray-600 align-middle dark:text-gray-400\">in<\/span>\n                    <a\n                    class=\"inline align-middle no-underline hover:text-brand-600 hover:dark:text-brand-400 hover:underline\"\n                    href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/databases\/sql-server\/\">\n                            SQL Server                    <\/a>\n                                        <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<a class=\"no-underline group\/content-text-lower\" href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/databases\/sql-server\/unmasking-sql-server-dynamic-data-masking-part-2-setting-up-masking\/ \">\n    <div>\n        <h1 class=\"\n            duration-200 mt-0 mb-1 text-xl\n            \n            peer-hover:group-[]\/content-text:text-brand-600\n            group-hover\/content-text-lower:text-brand-600\n\n            peer-hover:group-[]\/content-text:dark:text-brand-400\n            group-hover\/content-text-lower:dark:text-brand-400\n            \n            peer-hover:group-[]\/content-text:underline\n            group-hover\/content-text-lower:underline\n            \n        \">\n            SQL Server Dynamic Data Masking Setup Guide        <\/h1>\n                    <p class=\"mb-0\">\n                Set up SQL Server Dynamic Data Masking step by step. Covers ALTER TABLE masking syntax, mask functions (default, email, random,&#8230;            <\/p>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"flex items-center gap-1 mt-md\">\n            <time>07 June 2023<\/time>\n            <span class=\"w-1 h-1 bg-current\tinline-block my-auto rounded-full\"><\/span>\n            <span>28 min read<\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/a>        <\/div>\n    <\/article>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"@container\">\n    <article class=\"flex gap-2xl items-center flex-col @md:flex-row-reverse\">\n        <div class=\"w-full @md:w-1\/3 flex items-center justify-center peer\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/databases\/sql-server\/unmasking-sql-server-dynamic-data-masking\/\" aria-label=\"SQL Server Dynamic Data Masking: Introduction and Use Cases (Part 1)\" class=\"no-underline relative aspect-3\/2 bg-gray-100 border border-gray-100 dark:border-gray-800 flex items-center justify-center flex-col gap-md w-full p-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"font-display-slab text-2xl text-base-black text-center w-full hyphens-auto\">SQL Server<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"w-24\" src=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-content\/themes\/simple-talk-theme-2024\/assets\/images\/logos\/st-logo.svg\" alt=\"Simple-Talk Logo\" width=\"153\" height=\"33\">\n\t\t\t<\/a>        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"w-full @md:w-2\/3 overflow-auto group\/content-text\">\n            \n<div class=\"block mb-md align-middle\">\n            \n        <a\n        href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/author\/ben-johnston\/\"\n        class=\"group\/author inline align-middle no-style min-w-fit\"\n        rel=\"author\"\n    >\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/2023-02-05-Ben-Headshot-0009-150x150.jpg\"\n            alt=\"Image of author: Ben Johnston\" \n            class=\"rounded-full align-middle w-6 h-6 duration-200 inline-block object-cover\"\/>\n        <span class=\"group-hover\/author:text-brand-600 peer\/ftr-image:text-brand-600 group-hover\/author:dark:text-brand-400 peer\/ftr-image:dark:text-brand-400 group-hover\/author:underline min-w-fit align-middle duration-200\">Ben Johnston<\/span>\n    <\/a>\n\n        <span class=\"card__categories align-middle\">\n                                                        <span class=\"text-gray-600 align-middle dark:text-gray-400\">in<\/span>\n                    <a\n                    class=\"inline align-middle no-underline hover:text-brand-600 hover:dark:text-brand-400 hover:underline\"\n                    href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/databases\/sql-server\/\">\n                            SQL Server                    <\/a>\n                                        <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<a class=\"no-underline group\/content-text-lower\" href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/databases\/sql-server\/unmasking-sql-server-dynamic-data-masking\/ \">\n    <div>\n        <h1 class=\"\n            duration-200 mt-0 mb-1 text-xl\n            \n            peer-hover:group-[]\/content-text:text-brand-600\n            group-hover\/content-text-lower:text-brand-600\n\n            peer-hover:group-[]\/content-text:dark:text-brand-400\n            group-hover\/content-text-lower:dark:text-brand-400\n            \n            peer-hover:group-[]\/content-text:underline\n            group-hover\/content-text-lower:underline\n            \n        \">\n            SQL Server Dynamic Data Masking: Introduction and Use Cases (Part 1)        <\/h1>\n                    <p class=\"mb-0\">\n                SQL Server Dynamic Data Masking (DDM) obfuscates column data for unauthorized users without changing the stored data. Part 1 introduces&#8230;            <\/p>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"flex items-center gap-1 mt-md\">\n            <time>26 May 2023<\/time>\n            <span class=\"w-1 h-1 bg-current\tinline-block my-auto rounded-full\"><\/span>\n            <span>13 min read<\/span>\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/a>        <\/div>\n    <\/article>\n<\/div>\n\n\n            <\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn all about Dynamic Data Masking in SQL Server with Ben Johnston&#8217;s detailed guide.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19670,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tags":[159004,4168,4170,4150,4151,4252],"coauthors":[98702],"class_list":["post-110533","collection","type-collection","status-publish","hentry","tag-benjohnston_dynamicdatamasking","tag-database","tag-database-administration","tag-sql","tag-sql-server","tag-t-sql-programming"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/collection\/110533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/collection"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/collection"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110533"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=110533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}