Which of the following solutions helps ensure secure transmission of sensitive information online?

Data encryption is essential for ensuring the secure transmission of sensitive information online. This method involves converting plaintext into a coded format that can only be read by authorized parties who possess the decryption key. When sensitive information, such as personal identification numbers or financial data, is encrypted before transmission, it becomes nearly impossible for unauthorized individuals to intercept and understand the data, even if they manage to capture it during transit.

For secure communication over networks, encryption protocols such as HTTPS (which uses SSL/TLS) are widely implemented. They encrypt data being sent between clients and servers, protecting it from eavesdroppers and man-in-the-middle attacks.

The other options, while they contribute to data security in different ways, do not specifically address the secure transmission of data. Data masking modifies data so that it remains usable for development or testing without exposing sensitive information. Data deduplication focuses on reducing the amount of storage needed by eliminating duplicate copies of data, and data minimization involves only collecting the necessary data to reduce risk exposure. However, none of these solutions provide the direct transmission security that encryption does.