What is defined as the process of hiding material to prevent its access or retrieval?

The process of hiding material to prevent its access or retrieval is specifically known as data concealment. This term refers to techniques aimed at keeping information hidden from unauthorized users or systems. Data concealment can involve various methods, including steganography or obfuscation, which make it challenging for those without the necessary permissions to access the concealed information.

While data encryption involves transforming readable data into a format that can only be understood with a decryption key, it does not inherently involve hiding the existence of the data itself. Data storage is simply the act of saving data for future use and does not denote any protective measures against accessing that data. Data masking, on the other hand, refers to altering the data so that it retains its essential forms while obscuring certain sensitive information, rather than hiding it entirely. Thus, data concealment is distinctly the correct term for the complete hiding of material to prevent access or retrieval.