Best PII Redaction Software and Practices for Audio and Video Files
Redacting multimedia files during eDiscovery processes streamlines review processes. It also maintains compliance since audio and video-based data isn't exempt from regulations made to protect personally identifiable information (PII).
Managing this PII is critical, making quality AI-based PII redaction software a must-have!
McKinsey & Company reports that AI can help corporations increase productivity by $4.4 trillion in the long term. Multimedia redaction is one of the many reasons this is true for legal teams.
Read on to learn about the emerging need for multimedia redaction and how cloud platforms can support it at scale.
What Is PII Redaction?
"Personally identifying information" is any data that can be used to identify someone.
If this data is compromised, their identity is leaked and associated with other PII. This lets unauthorized identities have access to sensitive information about them, like birthdates and social security numbers. The PII makes them traceable and vulnerable.
Because this is both unethical and illegal, PII redaction is necessary in legal processes. It entails combing through a company or law firm's data to blot out or permanently delete this sensitive information.
The purpose is to get rid of PII before sending necessary data to third parties for use in litigation and criminal trials.
Prioritizing PII redaction:
- Reduces the risk of identity theft
- Mitigates fraud-related risks
- Helps meet compliance requirements, including those enforced by the US Department of Labor
- Ensures that companies, LSPs, and law firms maintain their good reputation by not leaking sensitive information
- Prevents costly data breaches that IBM reports can cost about $4.4 million
- Stops fines and legal penalties from destroying your enterprise
Multimedia Files: What PII Needs to Be Redacted?
eDiscovery requires the redaction of information related to both employees and clients.
Directly identifiable information includes:
- Full names
- Birthdates
- Social security numbers
- Bank account and credit card information
- Biometric records
Indirectly identifiable information includes:
- Employment records
- Medical information
- Financial data
Legal teams can also use PII redaction software to preserve trade secrets and company information. This includes company financial data and banking information. Business models and long-term plans are also included.
Logikcull: Your Sensitive Data Security Solution
Unfortunately, not all PII comes in a written format. Audio redaction techniques and video file protection are also necessary.
Logikcull helps you identify PII in your data with machine learning models. It finds keywords and phrases that may indicate the existence of something sensitive. It then tags the files containing these keywords and alerts you to them.
Our software takes things a step further by slashing your data. Logikcull categorizes them automatically into pre-defined PII search filters. Social security numbers will be tagged differently from client financial information, making organized review a breeze.
When it comes to audio and video files, Logikcull's generative AI capabilities can:
- Transcribe audio within minutes
- Create text descriptions of videos
- Offer comprehensive metadata for transcriptions
- Summarize the transcribed documents in short paragraphs
Once this happens, it's easy for the AI to crawl through all your files and flag sensitive data. You can then use our automated redaction tools to manage PII and eliminate it from relevant documents.
Document Redaction Best Practices for Multimedia
Redacting PII from transcriptions of audio and video may involve covering it with a solid shape or pixellating it. It may also involve removing text from files and erasing the metadata associated with it. Encrypting this data stops it from leaking regardless of the method you choose.
However, it's also critical to redact this PII from the original files themselves.
Blurring videos is important because it makes objects unrecognizable. A mathematical algorithm can do this effectively and make it impossible to get rid of the blurring.
Audio-wise, you can:
- Put a cloak of silence over sensitive sections of speech
- Edit sections of the video out of the file if they include a lot of PII
- Overlay consistent tones over information to convey that PII was removed, effectively bleeping it out
Make sure to check over your PII redaction before sending it to the entity that sent the FOIA request or subpoena documents. This ensures that you don't accidentally send over sensitive information due to human error.
Frequently Asked Questions
What data sources does Logikcull pull from?
Users can use our connectors to pull documents and messages from:
- Google Drive
- Google Meet
- Email platforms
- Microsoft 365
- Microsoft Teams
- Network storage
- Public and private cloud storage
- Dropbox
- Clio
- Slack
- Other instant messaging platforms
All of this data goes into our all-in-one dashboard.
Naturally, some of this data will come in the form of audio and video. Custom connectors are also available for your company-specific applications.
How do AI models recognize PII?
Machine learning lets well-developed AI find patterns associated with PII. The technology understands what keywords and phrases are associated with sensitive information and scans all multimedia files for them. Data normalization makes this easy since transcriptions and tags contain text.
This process is cyclical as well. When you show the AI model that it found relevant information, it solidifies the software's understanding of what you need. This means that it can find PII even more effectively in the future due to ongoing training.
Can users individually configure software to their redaction needs?
Like all Reveal technologies, Logikcull is 100% customizable.
Our expert developers understand that no two legal teams have precisely the same eDiscovery needs. A corporate legal team responding to subpoenas may have to redact a higher volume of PII than a small LSP would.
Because of this, Logikcull's dashboard is easy to switch up in ways that meet your specific review needs. Managing large data volumes is also easier with custom tagging and filtering.
Invest in Multimedia Data Protection
Now that you know why legal teams need PII redaction software for audio and video files, it's time to begin streamlining eDiscovery with Logikcull.
Our robust suite of AI-driven services has helped over 1,500 entities improve legal hold processes and save money. With data normalization methods and easy-to-search dashboard settings, you can rely on Logikcull to help you safeguard sensitive information.
We're committed to ensuring compliance with both general and industry-specific regulations, so test-drive the best redaction software today by scheduling a free trial.
