This New Tool Can Retrieve Pixelated Text from Redacted Documents

[Mayhem]

This New Tool Can Retrieve Pixelated Text from Redacted Documents

Researchers release a new open-source tool called Underactor that can uncover pixelated text from redacted documents and reveal sensitive data.

thehackernews.com

The practice of blurring out text using a method called pixelation may not be as secure as previously thought.

While the most foolproof way of concealing sensitive textual information is to use opaque black bars, other redaction methods like pixelation can achieve the opposite effect, enabling the reversal of pixelized text back into its original form.

Dan Petro, a lead researcher at offensive security firm Bishop Fox, has demonstrated a new open-source tool called Unredacter to reconstruct text from the pixelated images, effectively leaking the very information that was meant to be protected.

The tool is also seen as an improvement over an existing utility named Depix, which works by looking up what permutations of pixels could have resulted in certain pixelated blocks to recover the text.

 

[TimeFlipper]

This New Tool Can Retrieve Pixelated Text from Redacted Documents

Researchers release a new open-source tool called Underactor that can uncover pixelated text from redacted documents and reveal sensitive data.

thehackernews.com

The practice of blurring out text using a method called pixelation may not be as secure as previously thought.

While the most foolproof way of concealing sensitive textual information is to use opaque black bars, other redaction methods like pixelation can achieve the opposite effect, enabling the reversal of pixelized text back into its original form.

Dan Petro, a lead researcher at offensive security firm Bishop Fox, has demonstrated a new open-source tool called Unredacter to reconstruct text from the pixelated images, effectively leaking the very information that was meant to be protected.

The tool is also seen as an improvement over an existing utility named Depix, which works by looking up what permutations of pixels could have resulted in certain pixelated blocks to recover the text.

Perhaps the best way would be destroying the original paperwork and re-writing the whole lot, obviously without the "Sensitive Textual Information"

 

[Mayhem]

Perhaps, there must be so many documents around the world waiting to be uncovered.

The sensitive information has to be there for some to read.

 

[steven chiverton]

interesting ive forward the link to the comments section of thirdphaseofmoon and fantastic daily if they ever bother to read there own comments section theyll see it and look into it otheriwse they will never know

 

[TimeFlipper]

Perhaps, there must be so many documents around the world waiting to be uncovered.

The sensitive information has to be there for some to read.

You brought up redaction, so i followed on from that