From the first day of enrolling a student into your program to providing that student with educational opportunities for years to come, your school is compiling very valuable data. Without an effective and efficient method to protect that often-sensitive data- it could fall into the hands of someone who could use it for unsettling reasons.
Redaction is an effective method for reducing these risks. However, manual redaction is not efficient or error-free. That is when AI redaction tools, like those provided by iDox.ai, are working to make educational institutions safer for everyone.
Data Breaches Are an Ongoing Problem
Most schools have a significant amount of potentially sensitive information available to them, from Social Security numbers to students' names and addresses. It is in your documents and digital files. Even videos stored on your database to monitor for safety reasons could be used later against a student.
The Javelin Strategy & Research program found that, from 2021 to 2022, 1.7 million children suffered child identity theft. That equates to 1 in every 43 children in the US. To protect sensitive data, it is critical to employ document redaction strategies that prevent sensitive data from falling into the wrong hands.
Educational institutions can utilize iDox.ai Redact to improve redaction accuracy and save time. It effectively identifies and eliminates sensitive information from digital documents and files, safeguarding confidential and private information.
Redaction Use Cases: Here's Exactly How Automated Redaction Is Protecting Today's Student
The following are some of AI redaction tools' most effective use cases. Utilizing these tools does not negate any compliance requirements or prevent educational institutions from meeting regulations. Yet, it can amplify security and protect students in various ways.
Safeguard Student Privacy
Every organization must prioritize student privacy within the educational institution. Schools, much like a place of business for an employee, are often a treasure trove of valuable data about a student. The school needs and uses that sensitive information to facilitate educational programs and resources. Yet, even in the most secure environments, data breaches can occur.
Redaction software aids schools and universities in ensuring that all personal information is not accidentally exposed. Examples include:
· Social Security numbers
· Medical records for the child
· Disciplinary actions
· Addresses and contact information
Many schools must share reports and documents with third-party organizations. For example, government agencies may require information to analyze student education quality, or employers may need to verify students' identities. If your organization handles requests like these from third parties, redaction software is critical. It protects the student's privacy but does not compromise the integrity of those records.
Ensuring FERPA and Regulatory Compliance
Consider another statistic. IBM states that, in 2022, $4.82 million worth of data breaches occurred in the US related to educational institutions. This data must be protected, and under the FERPA Act, it is a legal requirement for educational institutions to do so. This law requires that all educational institutions proactively protect sensitive data, including Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Those that fail to meet these compliance requirements face potential financial penalties and legal action.
Data that must be protected under this law includes:
· Student names
· Social Security numbers
· Student ID numbers
· Email addresses for the student or parents
· Mailing addresses for the student
· Disciplinary records
· Grade reports and school transcripts
· Tuition payment information and receipts
· All types of financial aid documents
· Immunization records
· Parental and guardian information for the student
· Scholarship and other related financial information
Penalties, lawsuits, and damage to an educational institution's reputation are possible in situations where any of this information suffers exposure or access by an individual or group that should not have such access. Redaction software helps educational institutions to comply with all components of FERPA. With document redaction, all sensitive data is automatically detected and removed from documents. This ensures that no unauthorized people gain access to that information. This data is removed before your organization shares it.
Also, automated redaction is the most effective resolution for meeting GDPR and other international compliance requirements. If your educational works with or supports international students, these enhanced regulations may need to be met as well. These are very stringent requirements to protect sensitive data that cannot be overlooked.
Streamlining Records Requests
From an efficiency standpoint, automated redaction is a helpful tool. It enables organizations to quickly and efficiently navigate text redaction before sending information off to third parties. Many educational institutions receive requests for student records. This may be helpful for data researchers who are compiling
demographic-specific information. It may be used for student record keeping or public reports. Even government institutions may request data from time to time.
Traditionally, these requests must be handled manually, requiring someone to physically remove sensitive data from files before it is sent. That is labor intensive and, in many situations, still enables the risk of sensitive data slipping through due to human error.
Utilizing automated redaction software streamlines this process. The software significantly reduces the amount of time and effort necessary to process such requests. This ensures administrators and staff can handle such requests without interference in their daily tasks. Inquiries are handled faster and often with better accuracy, while tedious tasks do not bog down staff. This improves overall operational efficiency.
Protecting Instructional Data
From text to PDF redaction, this type of software facilitates the sharing of information in a safe manner, including instructional data. In universities and research institutions where handling large amounts of research material and proprietary data is common, it is critical to have software available that can eliminate sensitive information breaches. This includes intellectual property as well as confidential information.
In a highly competitive industry, the exposure of this type of data or information can lead to financial strain for the educational institution and may cause difficulties in moving the program ahead. Redaction software protects sensitive data of all forms, including research data, from disclosure. If your organization is sharing proprietary
information with external collaborators or you are submitting data reports for publication, it is critical to have all sensitive data eliminated from that process.
Institutions protect their research and maintain a competitive edge when they are able to properly exclude such information from unwanted sharing. Within the academic community, this is also critical as a way to protect programs and the institution's reputation.
Reducing Human Error
People make mistakes. Even in the ideal scenario, with ample data revision and careful proofing, mistakes occur. When that mistake is the personally identifiable information about a minor, or there is a medical condition shared that violates regulations, the consequences can be dire. Manual redaction, which has long been used to protect this information, is not foolproof. It is prone to mistakes, and even small oversights lead to risky exposure to sensitive information. To work, redaction
software eliminates the risk of human error by using advanced algorithms that automatically detect and identify all instances of sensitive data from files or documents. This ensures no personal information is accidentally left visible. It ultimately reduces the likelihood that data breaches or unauthorized disclosures will occur.
Supporting Digital Transformation
Another core benefit of using AI redaction, such as iDox.ai, is its ability to shift to a digital environment. Digital processes tend to be more efficient and enable educational institutions to process large amounts of data quickly and effectively. With digital document redaction, it is possible to manage more secure document handling with speed and efficiency.
With redaction software, digital transformation is more readily available. It provides institutions with a secure way to manage and then share digital documents without any compromising of privacy. This includes student records, administrative reports, publications for research programs, or dozens of other bits of information that are critical for organizations to manage and maintain as well as provide access to for reasonable needs.
More so, automated redaction allows organizations to handle large volumes of data while maintaining full compliance with data protection regulations. In most situations, this is critical to facilitating a smooth transition to a digital environment.
The Value of Utilizing iDox.ai Within Your Educational Institution
Your time is valuable. Your organization's budget and reputation must be maintained. For these reasons, redaction is a very important component of your day-to-day operations within an educational institution. With AI redaction utilizing iDox.ai, it is possible for schools of all types and sizes to effectively protect sensitive data from unauthorized access.
Consider some of the core benefits of iDox.ai:
· With a 99%+ accuracy level, it enables you to be confident that sensitive data is not in the reports and data you are sharing.
· It requires minimal human effort to complete, boosting efficiency by 95% within any administrative office.
· With document redaction from iDox.ai educational institutions move through projects, research, and other tasks with efficiency, eliminating bottlenecks while ensuring all compliance requirements are met.
For most of today's educational institutions, AI redaction software is no longer an option but a critical component to maintaining efficient operations and complying with all regulations. To make the process easy to implement, learn more about iDox.ai.