5 ms·
> Anytime someone would ask him to make a pdf copy of a document he would print it out, scan it on the copier and email it to himself. That's a pragmatic strat
by quitit 3y ago
> Anytime someone would ask him to make a pdf copy of a document he would print it out, scan it on the copier and email it to himself.
That's a pragmatic strategy to ensure that sensitive information isn't leaked.
Other than potentially including useful vector formats of artwork such as seals, logos and signatures, the visibility and/or mask settings can easily hide sensitive information that is trivial to extract later with standard vector editing software.
The print+scan method ensures that the person sharing the file is fully aware of exactly what is being handed over. It also deals with redactions which were not implemented properly.
- bornfreddy 3y agoA paranoid person would point out that information can be encoded in a way that is not lost when printing / scanning too, just with more effort. Of course I'm not such a person. ;)
- quitit 3y agoCertainly, but that's now on a new level. The problem of oversharing with PDF is pretty common. To use a high-profile example: >Failed redaction reveals Paul Manafort's 'lies to FBI' https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46804127 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46804127 Moving deeper into just redaction failures: The American Bar Association even has a topic dedicated to redaction failures, where they list numerous examples of it (including the one above): https://www.americanbar.org/groups/judicial/publications/judges_journal/2019/spring/embarrassing-redaction-failures/ https://www.americanbar.org/groups/judicial/publications/jud... Yet redaction failures are just one of many ways that a PDF can overshare, simply printing and scanning it solves a great many problems. I think it's a good approach for people who aren't tech savvy, especially with longer documents.
- nikanj 3y agoThe fool-proof redaction method: 1) Print 2) Cut out the parts you want to leave out (blacking them with a market might leave an opening for revealing them via some contrast tweaking) 3) Scan Easy to explain, easy to implement, easy to remember.
- quitit 3y agook i lol'd
- extraduder_ire 3y agoMake sure those cuts are done sloppily. If you know what the font is, it's possible to derive details about the text that was redacted using kerning information. This matters more for digital redaction, even if the data is actually removed and not just covered with black rectangles.
- iancmceachern 3y ago> That's a pragmatic strategy to ensure that sensitive information isn't leaked No ot wasn't, it was because he didn't know how to use computers.