Experts Guide on What Information should be Redacted and Why

Before masking your documents, you must know what information should be redacted and why. Masking information can protect your privacy while allowing the public to see the document. 

However, knowing what information you should mask with a redaction in certain cases is important. There are a few reasons why the information should be redacted.In this article, you will learn what information should be redacted and how it helps make your business more secure.

What is Redaction?

In today's digital world, protecting your privacy has become very important. Masking information can help protect your privacy while allowing the public to see the document.

Redaction is a simple process of hiding or blacking out specific information from a document or image.

The redaction tool is a good choice if you're looking for an accessible option because it can redact your document in four easy steps and doesn't require any technical knowledge. While automatic redaction ensures that your paper does not contain private information, it makes it more difficult for hackers to access it. 

What Information should be Redacted?

Five primary pieces of information should be redacted when using the redaction tool.

Credit/debit card Numbers- This information should be redacted so the public doesn't need to see it. In addition, blacking out this information will make it more difficult for hackers to access it.

Taxpayer identification numbers- Hiding taxpayer info is crucial because it can keep your data identity confidential and prevent fraud.

Medical records- Used in the healthcare industry, keeping medical records private is important for the patient and the doctor. By redacting this information, you can keep your information safe and confidential.

Trade secrets and financial account numbers- If you're a business owner, keeping your trade secrets and financial information confidential is important. Hiding this information will make it more difficult for hackers to access it. So they cannot track your buying capacity, purchase history, etc.

Personal info and family data- Keeping personal identity safe is of utmost importance. Redacting personal data can protect your identity and keep you safe. It includes maiden names, last names, addresses, birth dates, etc.

PII or Personally Identifiable Information- It includes names, phone numbers, ID card/passport numbers, license numbers, alien registration numbers, financial account numbers, and other personal information. Also, it contains personal data identifiers like Biometric data and unique physical traits such as fingerprints, voiceprints, photos, etc. 

PHI or Protected Health Information-PHI or protected health information is sensitive information that can be used to identify an individual's medical records and scanned documents. It contains conditions about physical or mental health, past medical history, prescriptions, appointments, and results from lab tests. Numbers for health plan members, certificates, etc. Photographs of the person's entire face or distinguishing features.

Information on Business-Contracts with third parties and trade secrets are examples of intellectual property and financial reports.

Client-Attorney Confidential Information-Communication between an attorney and client, both verbal and written, must be kept secret. Sensitive personal information cannot be released without consent. If material is shared, redaction is needed. Demonstration of hiding or removing sensitive, private, or secret material from a freely available report or wide visibility.

3 Reasons why Redaction is Important

There are three fundamental reasons why you should get your documents redacted:

 Reducing the risk of leaks and breaches- Permanently hiding critical data helps you gain confidentiality while sharing documents with others. In addition, it helps you hide data that can be stolen and can harm your business if leaked. In some cases, a redaction can even protect you from a lawsuit.

Competitors could not gain your customer insights- Customers are the kings of any business, and you don't want competitors to get ahold of your customer data. By redacting sensitive information, you can protect your business from competitors who may try to obtain this information and steal your customer base.

Satisfying Government policies- It became mandatory for every organization to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and HIPAA. Regulations such as these ensure that organizations take appropriate measures to protect the privacy of their clients. For example, meeting all GDPR requirements means redacting sensitive information, such as customer numbers and addresses.

Redaction Made Easy!

Redactable, a cloud-based redaction tool, automatically identifies and deletes sensitive information. It is one of the most reliable PDF redaction tools ever. Its powerful auto-detect radiation process makes your life easier by making your business environment secure and confidential.

Redactable is all one solution for your redaction needs. It offers a comprehensive redaction tool for text, graphics, images, headers and footers, tables, forms, and more and saves your data in a password-protected cloud.

 Features of Redactable:

• The auto-redaction feature of Redactable uses NLP/ML technology to quickly and permanently delete sensitive information. 
• Permanent identification and redaction of all sensitive information, including metadata and hidden data, is possible.
• Redactable provides legally certified, time-stamped redaction certificates for monitoring redaction activity. According to its privacy policy, Redactable places a high priority on safeguarding the privacy of your personal and sensitive information.
• By allowing team members to work on a single project together, Redactable increases productivity.
• The user interface of Redactable is simple to use. Additionally, Redactable will walk you through the redaction process step by step.
• Redactable lets you make unlimited changes to the redacted document.

How to Redact the Archive Using Redactable?

Using Redactable, you can easily redact your document in just four steps.

1. Upload your record there.

2. Provide the wizard with the essential information you need.

3. Redact the archive.

4. Get the edited copy to download. You can now proceed.

Get Certificates when you Redact with one of our plans!

Final Words

Protecting data before sharing with third parties is critical to guarantee the relevant information is not lost. Redaction Tools automatically obfuscate all PII. It does not change its original meaning. 

Redaction tools have gained popularity due to their control over data sharing and storage for those who need to evaluate opportunities, efficiently run businesses, or release sensitive information to the public, like legal documents. 

After reading the above, you must know what information should be redacted and why. So start using Redactable to redact your documents and protect your privacy. Signup now for Redactable and get started redacting today!