Those who use digital redaction typically use PDF redaction tools.[9]<\/a> This involves placing a black box over the sensitive information that is supposed to remove the information behind the box.[10]<\/a> When this technique fails, it is usually because the text data remained in the document.[11]<\/a> This allows an individual who would like to access the information to simply copy and paste the information behind the black box into a new word document, defeating the purpose of the redaction.[12]<\/a> Some information can also be shown when converting a redacted document from Microsoft Word to PDF.[13]<\/a> Additionally, the inclusion of enough details can allow individuals to decipher what the redactions were meant to be.[14]<\/a> When these failures occur, information that was supposed to be unknown to the public could be exploited through the press.[15]<\/a> Examples of this include the redacted court deposition of Ghislaine Maxwell, the partner of Jeffrey Epstein, being published after being deciphered by journalists.[16]<\/a> The journalists were able to decipher many names that were redacted, many of those names being high-profile individuals.[17]<\/a> Redaction failures do not only happen in court filings; anyone using digital redaction techniques can fall victim.[18]<\/a> An unintentional exploitation of private information through the press occurred through the New York Times when they published redacted information that fell victim to the copy and paste method.[19]<\/a> This redacted information revealed CIA operations and the name of a program’s target; this information is a matter of national security and was not intended to be known by the public.[20]<\/a> There are multiple high-profile redaction failures that have exposed information that someone wanted to keep secret.[21]<\/a><\/p>\n Ineffective redaction can be detected before information is leaked; however, if it is not detected, that information sits available to all.[22]<\/a> Researchers have built a tool called Edact-Ray to identify, break, and fix information leaks.[23]<\/a> The program focuses on the size of the characters and their positioning; it then compares the size of the redaction with a predefined \u201cdictionary\u201d of words to estimate what has been replaced.[24]<\/a> This software can eliminate 80,000 estimates per second. When it detects a vulnerable PDF redaction, it removes the underlying text from the PDF.[25]<\/a> The inventors of this tool intend to release parts of this program to help identify non-excising redactions and help repair those redactions.[26]<\/a> For those individuals and entities that intend to use digital redaction in the future and do not intend on using Edact-Ray, changing the content of the original document before redacting can be one way to avoid failure.[27]<\/a> While redacting will never be proof, understanding that redaction is not as secure as one thinks will help avoid careless mistakes.[28]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> See<\/em> e.g., <\/em>Adam Pez, Digital Redaction Fails & Best Practices: How to Keep Your Sensitive Information Safe<\/em>, Intralinks (Sept. 3, 2020), https:\/\/www.intralinks.com\/blog\/2020\/09\/digital-redaction-fails-best-practices-how-keep-your-sensitive-information-safe; Matt Burgess, Redacted Documents Are Not as Secure as You Think<\/em>, wired (Nov. 25, 2022), https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/redact-pdf-online-privacy\/.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> See<\/em> Pez, supra<\/em> note 1.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Id<\/em>.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> See <\/em>Maxwell Bland, et al., Story Beyond the Eye: Glyph Positions Break PDF Text Redaction<\/em> 1 (2022).<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> See <\/em>Pez, supra <\/em>note 1.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> See <\/em>Burgess, supra<\/em> note 1.<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> See id<\/em>.<\/p>\n [8]<\/a> See<\/em> id<\/em>.<\/p>\n [9]<\/a> See<\/em> Bland, supra <\/em>note 4, at 1.<\/p>\n [10]<\/a> Burgess, supra <\/em>note 1.<\/p>\n [11]<\/a> Lisa C. Wood & Marco J. Quina, Litigation Practice Notes from the Field the Perils of Electronic Filing and Transmission of Documents<\/em>, 22 Antitrust ABA 91, 91 (2008).<\/p>\n [12]<\/a> See <\/em>Bland, supra<\/em> note 4, at 2.<\/p>\n [13]<\/a> See <\/em>Judge Herbert B. Dixon Jr., Embarrassing Redaction Failures<\/em>, 58 the judges journal 37, 38 (2019).<\/p>\n [14]<\/a> See <\/em>Burgess, supra <\/em>note 1.<\/p>\n [15]<\/a> See<\/em> Wood, supra <\/em>note 11, at 91.<\/p>\n [16]<\/a> Burgess, supra <\/em>note 1; Josh Levin, et al., We Cracked the Redactions in the Ghislaine Maxwell Deposition<\/em>, slate (Oct. 22, 2020), https:\/\/slate.com\/news-and-politics\/2020\/10\/ghislaine-maxwell-deposition-redactions-epstein-how-to-crack.html.<\/p>\n [17]<\/a> Levin, supra <\/em>note 16.<\/p>\n [18]<\/a> Id<\/em>.<\/p>\n [19]<\/a> See<\/em> Dixon, supra <\/em>note 13, at 39.<\/p>\n [20]<\/a> Id<\/em>.<\/p>\n [21]<\/a> Burgess, supra <\/em>note 1.<\/p>\n [22]<\/a> Wood, supra <\/em>note 11, at 92.<\/p>\n [23]<\/a> Bland, supra <\/em>note 4, at 2.<\/p>\n [24]<\/a> Burgess, supra <\/em>note 1.<\/p>\n [25]<\/a> Id<\/em>.<\/p>\n [26]<\/a> Bland, supra <\/em>note 4, at 18.<\/p>\n
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