More Madness – Bitform’s List of Content attributes

I just received some literature from Bitform Technology that includes a nice list of some of the attributes/elements to be aware of with respect to unstructured data, that data primarily in Microsoft Office applications.

Here is Bitform’s list of elements:

  • Audio & Video Paths
  • Author History
  • Comments
  • Content Properties
  • Custom Properties
  • Database Queries
  • Embedded Objects
  • Fast Save Data
  • Hidden Slides
  • Hidden Text
  • Linked Objects
  • Macros and Code
  • Office GUID Property
  • Outlook Properties
  • Presentation Notes
  • Printer Information
  • Routing Slip Details
  • Scenario Comments
  • Sensitive Hyperlinks
  • Sensitive INCLUDE fields
  • Statistic Properties
  • Summary Properties
  • Template Name
  • Tracked Changes
  • User Names
  • Versions
  • Weak Protections

As you can see, there aren’t any surprises here, per se, as much as it is worthwhile to actively evaluate the contents of a PowerPoint slide deck, for example, and to remember that there is a lot more hidden information in these files these days.

When you see notable examples of seemingly redacted information actually not being redacted (like using Adobe tools to black-out text that can be reversed on confidential information), this is the type of problem that may exist in your environment as well.