Digital evidence preservation comes in several forms, and not all data will be normalized text. Audio redaction in eDiscovery is a critical part of legal holds and review. To redact audio, however, legal teams will need specialized tools and resources that erase both data and metadata.
Audio is a form of unstructured data, which MIT Sloan reports makes up anywhere between 80-90% of a company's stored information. Audio editing in legal cases is a gold mine since you tap into an oft-neglected resource that can create an advantage in legal cases.
Here, we'll explain the challenges of applying legal holds to Slack communications and offer best practices and tech solutions to ensure compliance. Read on to learn the importance of audio redaction in protecting sensitive information while preserving the integrity of audio evidence during eDiscovery.
What Is Audio Redaction in eDiscovery?
Redaction in eDiscovery means censoring electronically sensitive information (ESI) and personally identifying information (PII).
Cloud-based redaction software is the most effective method of doing this. Redaction is critical because it preserves people's privacy when you respond to data request.
Some ESI and PII that companies need to redact include:
- Full names of employees and clients
- Home addresses
- Phone numbers
- Social security numbers
- Financial details
- Names of victims and witnesses in legal cases
- Confidential business information
Audio redaction in eDiscovery means obscuring sensitive information. This happens when a high-quality AI tool finds and removes PII from audio files needed in eDiscovery processes. These tools don't just erase the data but eliminate the metadata behind it as well.
Why Would Audio Be Redacted?
When you redact audio, you don't just protect employees and clients. You ensure that you maintain a good reputation by preventing data leakage and lawsuits. You also comply with local and federal regulations to prevent unauthorized access to data.
It's also a critical part of preventing fines. For example, legal teams handling healthcare information need to comply with HIPAA to avoid huge financial losses. According to the HIPAA Journal, even a single unknowing violation can cost you $68,928.
How Does Logikcull Help With Audio-Related eDiscovery Best Practices?
Logickull's PII redaction software automatically identifies what audio files might be relevant to ongoing litigations and trials. The software will find information that's been tagged with keywords relevant to the FOIA request or subpoena order that makes eDiscovery necessary.
This shows corporate legal teams, law firms, and LSPs what they need to hold onto.
Then, Logikcull transcribes audio files using generative AI capabilities. This normalizes the information and makes it more searchable. It will alert you to the PII within these transcripts so you know what needs to be redacted.
You can remove ESI from both the transcript and the audio file itself.
Logikcull's technology will automatically silence or bleep out the data from these files. Then, it will ensure that all metadata is gone before alerting you to the final redacted version of your audio file. You'll check it for quality, though Logickull's integrated tool will have already ensured compliance before presenting the file to you.
Every step of the redaction process exists in a secure, closed-loop system when you use our software. Multifactor authentication and industry-grade firewalls keep unauthorized users out. Plus, there are fewer endpoints for malware to get into, meaning that there are minimal vulnerabilities that could lead to a data breach.
Since IBM reports that just one data breach could cost a company $4.4 million, this is a critical step toward ensuring your long-term financial wellness. It also stops the impacts of data loss from leading to additional fines and sanctions for non-compliance, so employ Logikcull for a more secure legal process.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Redaction Styles Can Your Legal Team Use?
There are two common methods of eliminating ESI from audio files. The first is by muting the audio and incorporating a period of silence instead. You erase both the data and the metadata when you do this, and there's no way for a recipient to get it back.
Bleeping over the audio is also an option, which includes inserting a white noise or static sound over the ESI. This works best for shorter audio segments like names. Longer periods of auditory ESI that discuss financial information or social security numbers might require silencing.
Note that bleeping needs to be done with specialized software, just as silencing does. Otherwise, you may not erase the audio from the metadata, which could lead to hefty fines and sanctions.
Does AI Help With Audio Redaction?
Yes, AI is an invaluable tool when it comes to audio redaction in eDiscovery.
AI-powered tools like Logikcull can spot PII from miles away. This is because of its ability to automatically find and tag PII during the processing stage of eDiscovery. You can search for it in our integrated dashboard quickly and effectively.
The AI alerts you to this data so that you can redact it in bulk. The cloud storage system is secure with firewalls and protective features that keep unauthorized users out.
How Can You Prove Compliance With Audio Redaction Requirements?
The best AI-powered redaction software offers redaction software logs to users. These logs comprise an auditable record of everything that you've done in terms of redaction.
This provides you with proof that you comply with both federal and local regulations. It also ensures that the redactions you made are integrated well within the data production process so that you can see a holistic portrait of your methodology.
Try Logikcull's Privacy-Preserving Technology Today
Understanding audio redaction in eDiscovery is the first step toward maintaining privacy compliance while building the strongest possible legal case.
Now that you know some ways you can deploy confidential data handling methods for digital evidence protection, it's time to test-drive Logikcull's solutions and see what makes them stand out.
Our team is excited to offer custom plans that fit your company's needs. Affordable pricing is also one of our main differentiators, though you won't pay these fees until the end of your demo period. Request a trial of our eDiscovery solutions to learn more about how we help you manage audio editing in legal cases.
