PUBLIC SECTOR Redact vs. NASK - anonymization by public entities

In a world where data protection is increasingly becoming a priority, public institutions face the challenge of not only compliance with regulations (such as GDPR or the Access to Public Information Act), but also the efficiency and effectiveness of document anonymization efforts. Several technological solutions are available in Poland to support this process – including, among others, the Redact tool and a data anonymization program developed by NASK. While both solutions aim to protect personal data, they differ in their scope of operation, functionality and effectiveness. Which one better meets the needs of public institutions?

Public institutions – such as offices, ministries, courts or prosecutors’ offices – are required to publish many documents in the Public Information Bulletin. However, they often contain personal data of citizens, officials, parties to proceedings or witnesses, which must be permanently deleted or masked before publication.

Anonymization tools come to the rescue. But not every solution offers the same effectiveness – especially for complex, multilingual or voluminous documents. And this is where the important difference between Redact and the program from NASK comes in.

NASK (Scientific and Academic Computer Network) provides an anonymization tool that supports basic personal data hiding activities. It is a free solution, available in a desktop version, aimed mainly at public offices and institutions.

However, as needs grow – both in terms of the number of documents and their variety – many institutions are beginning to look for more flexible, scalable and intelligent solutions. Redact from FORDATA is such a tool.

Here are some of Redact’s key advantages over the program from NASK:

1. Advanced automation and AI

Redact uses artificial intelligence to automatically recognize sensitive data – not only the typical ones like first name, last name or PESEL (23 types of sensitive data in total!), but also contextual data, e.g. company names, professions, locations. NASK’s tool works mainly on the basis of patterns and dictionaries, which may be less effective in cases of non-standard data or different grammatical forms.

2. Multi-language support

For offices dealing with documents in different languages (e.g., border provinces, courts hearing cases involving foreigners), Redact recognizes data regardless of language – for example, the name “John” as “Jan”, ‘Jean’ or “Juan”. NASK’s tool works mainly in Polish; Redact supports nearly 80 foreign languages.

3. Working on large data sets

Redact easily processes large volumes of documents in a short period of time, significantly speeding up work at large institutions, e.g. anonymizing Jan’s name in a 1000-page document will take the same amount of time as manually anonymizing that name on one page of the document. The tool from NASK requires manual processing of files one at a time.

4. Simplicity and comfort

Redact supports the work of entire teams by allowing them to collaborate on draft versions of documents and track progress with reports. Redact combines advanced features with simple operation.

Imagine the situation: The Provincial Administrative Court has to publish several hundred court decisions in a short period of time in the Public Information Bulletin. Each document contains personal data of parties, witnesses, attorneys, as well as sensitive information – such as health, family or property situation. Time is of the essence, and the risk of errors is enormous.

In this case, Redact proves to be not only more precise, but also much faster and safer. With features such as:

• AI support in anonymization,
• Automatic detection of data in different contexts,
• The ability of the entire team to work simultaneously,

Redact eliminates the risk of overlooking sensitive information and ensures full regulatory compliance.

At FORDATA, we believe that technology should support the user, not force compromises. That’s why Redact is a tool designed with the real needs of organizations – both public and private – in mind.

Through continuous development based on our customers’ experiences, Redact not only automates anonymization, but does so intelligently, securely and in compliance with applicable regulations

Choosing the right document anonymization tool is crucial – especially in the context of legal liability and privacy. The tool from NASK will work well for simple cases and smaller offices, while Redact is a solution for institutions that expect not only compliance, but also speed, scalability and intelligent automation.

If your institution is facing the challenge of effective data anonymization – contact us. We’ll show you how Redact can streamline your workflow and guarantee full security of processed information.