SECAI Core · phase 12 of 15
Data redaction
The process of removing, obscuring, or masking data that is not necessary after collection
The Explain card
- Plain English
- Data redaction removes, obscures or masks parts of data that are not needed after collection, leaving only what is required for the task.
- Example
- A company logs every prompt sent to its internal assistant. Before the logs are stored, a redaction step blacks out credit card numbers and national ID numbers that employees occasionally paste in.
- Why it matters
- Data you no longer hold cannot be stolen, leaked by a model or subpoenaed. Redacting early reduces the blast radius of every later incident and keeps AI logs from becoming a secret-harvesting goldmine.
- Hook
- The black marker on the government document, applied by a script.
Where it sits in the deck
Phase 12: Defensive Technologies and Secure Development Practices
Map defences directly to the attacks just catalogued — the technical controls, secure coding practices, and protective tools that harden AI and traditional systems alike.
