Embarrassing Redaction Failures: Real-World Mistakes & How to Prevent Them

There is nothing quite as embarrassing as making a mistake at work, especially when that mistake is irreversible and bound to be discovered. The situation becomes far worse when the error isn’t just seen by your boss, but by the entire world.

This is the reality many organizations face when redacting sensitive documents for court filings, FOIA requests, or public release, and getting it wrong. Inadequate redaction can inadvertently reveal confidential trade secrets, expose private personal information, or even classified intelligence. In extreme cases, these redaction failures have jeopardized investigations, endangered individuals, and caused serious legal and reputational damage.

While redacting sensitive information may seem straightforward, the consequences of doing it incorrectly are anything but. Over the years, numerous high-profile redaction failures have shown just how easy it is for confidential information to slip through the cracks.

What is a Redaction Failure?

A redaction failure occurs when sensitive information that was meant to be permanently removed from a document remains accessible. his often happens when information is visually hidden but not technically deleted, allowing anyone to uncover it with simple copy-and-paste actions or basic file manipulation.

Despite extensive guidance on proper redaction practices, mistakes continue to happen. As early as 2005, the National Security Agency (NSA) published a detailed guide on securely redacting Word documents converted to PDF. Adobe followed in 2006 with a technical note outlining correct PDF redaction procedures. Yet even today, mistakes continue to occur. The risk of human error during redaction can be minimized by utilizing specific software designed for effective and efficient document redaction.

A Sharpie Is Not A Redaction Tool

In June 2023, Sony reportedly experienced an embarrassing redaction failure of its own. The company presented documentation loaded with confidential information tied to the PlayStation brand. Surprisingly, these documents were redacted using a traditional Sharpie marker. This situation parallels a scene from the film ‘Hidden Figures,’ where Katherine receives a pile of marker-redacted documents. She then holds them up against the light to uncover the obscured information, enabling her to accurately compute calculations for a spacecraft launch. Much like in the film, the redacted content in Sony’s documents could still be seen.

These documents revealed the production costs for various video games, along with user gaming statistics. Though the disclosed information wasn’t earth-shattering, it was unequivocally released in error. This incident underscores the fact that a mere marker is inadequate for secure document redaction.

Lost in Redaction: When PDF Redaction Goes Wrong

In 2011, tech giant Apple found itself embroiled in numerous patent lawsuits across different countries, with a significant number against Samsung Electronics. One such case, involving patent infringement, took an unexpected turn in December of that year. A California federal district judge released an ostensibly redacted opinion on the Apple-Samsung legal dispute. The document featured several blacked-out sections, but a glaring oversight became apparent when the concealed text, copied and pasted from the PDF into a new document, was revealed in full. This redaction failure was quickly noticed, leading the court to seal the opinion to secure the disclosed information. A correctly redacted version of the opinion was posted a few hours later.

This same redaction flaw has appeared in other high-profile cases. When documents related to the Epstein investigation were released, they were heavily redacted to protect identities and sensitive details. However, improper PDF redaction methods allowed portions of the hidden information to be recovered, drawing widespread criticism and raising serious concerns about how such a sensitive release was handled.

In the video below, we break down what went wrong with the Epstein files redaction and explain how these mistakes could have been avoided entirely with proper redaction tools.

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Leaking Classified Information

Edward Snowden is infamous for stealing millions of documents and leaking classified information to the media. Ingeniously, he transported data on a microchip, concealed within a Rubik’s Cube, past security checks. In early 2013, Snowden made a dramatic exit from his job and escaped the United States, seeking refuge in over twenty countries before finally being offered asylum in Russia, where he currently holds citizenship.

One of the documents Snowden leaked to the press was leaked to the New York Times and they published a redacted copy of it for their readers. However, similar to the previous instance in the Apple lawsuit, the redaction process was incorrectly executed. By simply copying and pasting the ‘redacted’ content into a fresh document, the identity of an NSA agent involved in operations concerning Al Qaeda was unintentionally exposed, posing a direct threat to their safety. This could have been avoided if the New York Times had exercised thorough caution in redacting the confidential information prior to releasing it on the Internet.

The Best Redaction Tool for the Job

Why rely on general-purpose tools like Sharpies and Adobe or other free redaction tools that aren’t effective when you can leverage a platform explicitly designed for the task?

CaseGuard Studio is an all-in-one redaction platform designed by an experienced engineering team focused on secure, compliant redaction. Its AI-powered technology identifies and removes personally identifiable information (PII) from documents and audio files, including names, phone numbers, social security numbers, and much more.

CaseGuard also streamlines video redaction by automatically detecting and redacting faces, individuals, license plates, vehicles, screens, and paperwork. With just a few clicks, sensitive content can be permanently removed, eliminating the risk of accidental disclosure.

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Interested in preventing redaction failures at your organization? Click here to request a live demo with one of our CaseGuard specialists.