Huntsville Times, February 2007

Got a Secret? Keep it

Provides a brief history of Document Detective and the pricipal developer, Ronald Hackett. Hackett started his research in December 2000 while assigned to the Missile and Space Intelligence Center.

Information Security, July 2006

Document Review: Document Detective 2.0

Document Detective provides security officials with a powerful tool that incorporates document-review best practices that otherwise require tedious manual checking.

Network Computing, 2 May 2006

Geek Chic: Document Detective 2.0
Beware of Hidden Data

This software removes document metadata and more than 100 other types of data that could be hidden within files, identifying and stripping away embedded objects, tracked changes, comments and other potentially damaging information.

Document Detective Given 'A' Rating In Indepentent Testing

Government Computer News 17.April.2006 Issue

Scrub Your Data, not Your Career By John Breeden II, GCN Staff

Reviewer’s comments: Document Detective finds a surprising amount of hidden metadata not meant for public consumption. This brand-new version lets you do a side-by-side comparison to determine if the scrubbed document meets your agency’s reporting requirements.

NSA and the Dangers of Documents By Gene Koprowski
April 2006 Issue, Posted Apr 13, 2006

...Ron Hackett, program manager at SRS Technologies , points out that metadata reveals a great deal of information about a document. ...

Software cleanses documents of unwanted data

Obscured content, metadata can expose companies to accidental data disclosure.

By  Ann Bednarz,  Network World, 03/21/06

SRS Technologies Launches Document Detective for

Comprehensive Electronic Document Security

Only Offering on Defense Security Service’s List of Trusted Download Products that Helps Organizations Screen and Safeguard Sensitive Data

Newport Beach, CA – March 20, 2006 – SRS Technologies, a leading provider of system engineering, system integration and IT services and products, today launched Document Detective, a new electronic document security tool designed specifically to prevent inadvertent data disclosure when classified Government documents are downgraded.  Currently, Document Detective is the only product listed on the Defense Security Service’s Trusted Downloading Products List, and it exceeds the requirements set forth in the NSA’s recently published guidance on data redaction.

“Recent incidents at highly-visible Government agencies show that the problem of accidental data exposure will escalate as vulnerable, mass-market software applications are implemented across organizations and users continue to be unaware of the associated risks,” said Joseph Bergantz, Vice President and General Manager of SRS Technologies’ Systems Solutions Division.  “Document Detective provides the extra protection that the Government needs - in tandem with their already established security measures – to ensure that sensitive data isn’t inadvertently compromised.  Corporate America should also be concerned about the inadvertent exposure of proprietary and personal information by routine file sharing via the web and email.”

Document Detective can process, identify and sanitize more than 100 types of hidden data and Meta data, including tracked changes, comments, embedded object linking and embedding (OLE) files, embedded objects and object fragments.  Object fragments are created when the application fails to remove deleted information from the document.  This data is often invisible to the human eye but can be easily located when using Document Detective.  Document Detective was specifically engineered to process classified documents and meets the Government’s most stringent compliance requirements to provide 100% reliable human review.

Key features of Document Detective include:

o         Customizable User Experience:  Allows the user to customize the thoroughness of his review to determine if he wants to eliminate or keep hidden data. 

o         “Flatten” Tool:   Leaves only what a user wants in the document and can significantly reduce the file size of bloated documents that contain a large amount of hidden data. 

o         Exposes Hidden Content in Embedded Objects:   Identifies and corrects all embedded material found.  OLE objects and compound objects, such as Groups, can be extracted and examined separately.

o         Removes Tracked Changes from PowerPoint, Excel and Word :  The Microsoft Ad Hoc Review feature that was added in Office XP automatically enables Tracked Changes without warning the user.  This information can be difficult to remove, especially from PowerPoint.

“The NSA’s recent guidance on how to safely publish reports clearly shows that the data redaction problem is escalating and that users need to be educated about the tools that can prevent divulging sensitive data,” added Bergantz.  “It is therefore imperative that electronic documents, especially in Government, are reviewed and sanitized before they are transferred across security boundaries.”

Starting at $300 for a single user license, Document Detective is available immediately for purchase.  For more information, please visit http://www.docdet.com/

About SRS Technologies

SRS Technologies, founded in 1970 and headquartered in Newport Beach, California, is a premiere, highly-diversified provider of system engineering, system integration and information technology services and products to government and commercial customers on a worldwide basis.  SRS has a successful, 35-year lineage in delivering solutions to all major government agencies and programs focused on C4ISR (command, control, computer, communications, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance).  Key, longstanding relationships include the National Reconnaissance Office, Defense Intelligence Agency, NASA, Department of Homeland Security and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, among many others.  For further information, visit http://www.srs.com/.