document sanitization

Document sanitization is the process of ensuring that only the intended information can be accessed from a document.

In addition to making sure the document text doesn’t openly divulge anything it shouldn’t, document sanitization includes removing document metadata that could pose a privacy or security risk. Document metadata can contain the names of authors and modifiers, the dates of creation and changes, file size, edit changes, revision histories and comment exchanges between authors and editors. Because that metadata may contain sensitive information, it's important safeguard it from unauthorized access. 

A common way to remove metadata from a document is to convert it to PDF format before releasing it; however, there are processes that must be followed to ensure the document contains no unintended information.  The National Security Agency (NSA) recommends the following six-step process for secure conversion and redaction of Word documents:

1. Create a copy of the original document.
2. Turn off “Track Changes” on the copy and remove all visible comments.
3. Delete any sensitive information from the document that you wish to redact.
4. Use the Microsoft Office Document Inspector to check for any unwanted metadata.
5. Save the new document and convert it to a PDF file.
6. Use the Sanitize Document tool in Acrobat Professional as a second check before releasing the redacted PDF.

See also: metadata management, metadata security