SECAI Core · phase 12 of 15 · noun

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.

Word knowledge

How the word is built, where it came from, and what it sits beside in memory.

In a sentence

The security pipeline applies data redaction to API logs before analysts inspect them for model failures.

Why these words
  • data Latin data, things given modifies the head noun by identifying the material involved
  • redaction Latin redactio, a bringing back or revising serves as the head noun and names the security procedure
Where it came from
Origin
English compound formed from data and redaction, both ultimately from Latin
Entered the language
20th century
What changed
Redaction moved from editing written works to concealing selected information, while data broadened from recorded facts to digital information.
How it is spelled
Pattern
redaction retains the common -ction noun ending
Pattern
data retains the final -a of its Latin plural form

Spelled like

  • action
  • extraction
  • transaction
  • metadata
Broken into chunks
  • data
    • database
    • metadata
  • redact
    • redacted
    • redactor
  • tion
    • encryption
    • extraction
What it sits beside

Same subject

Same shape

  • document redaction
  • data protection
  • risk assessment

privacy safeguards

  • data redaction
  • tokenization
  • pseudonymization

Where it sits in the deck

Phase 12: Defensive Technologies and Secure Development Practices

Map defenses directly to the attacks just cataloged — the technical controls, secure coding practices, and protective tools that harden AI and traditional systems alike.

Neighbours in this phase