BoldDesk Redaction Guide for Data Privacy and Information Protection

BoldDesk provides a data redaction feature designed to protect sensitive information and support compliance with privacy regulations such as HIPAA. This feature automatically detects and obscures confidential data in support tickets using customizable redaction rules. This functionality enables organizations to automatically detect and obscure sensitive information within support tickets by configuring customizable redaction rules.

Redaction ensures that teams can continue their operations efficiently while preventing unauthorized access to sensitive data.

Data Redaction and Scope

Data Redaction

Data redaction refers to the process of masking or removing sensitive information from digital records to prevent unauthorized access. In BoldDesk, redaction ensures secure handling of support tickets while maintaining operational efficiency.

Scope of redaction

Redaction rules apply specifically to the following areas within a ticket, each of which may contain sensitive data that needs protection.

• Subject
• Responses
• Activity logs

Types of sensitive information that can be redacted

The system supports redaction of various types of sensitive data, including but not limited to:

• Credit card numbers
• Social Security Numbers (SSN)
• Phone numbers
• Email addresses

How to Enable Data Redaction

1. Follow these steps to configure redaction in BoldDesk: Navigate to:
   Agent Portal → Admin Module → Settings → Security & Compliance → Data Redaction
2. Configure redaction rules based on your organization’s privacy needs.
3. Save and apply the settings.

HIPAA compliance Integration

When HIPAA compliance is enabled, redaction becomes a critical safeguard. However, organizations can also use redaction independently to enhance general data privacy and security hygiene.

Data Storage and Retrieval Behavior

Once data is redacted:

• The redacted version is stored in the database.
• The original data is permanently unrecoverable.
• Even internal users with database access cannot view the original sensitive information.

This ensures zero exposure risk for confidential data.

Best Practices for Redaction

• Enable redaction by default for all support channels.
• Regularly review redaction rules to align with evolving compliance needs.
• Train support agents on the importance of data privacy.
• Proactively enable redaction, even if HIPAA compliance is not currently required, to uphold a high standard of data privacy and security.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: Can I retrieve original data after redaction?
No. Once redacted, the original data is permanently removed from the system.

Q2: Is redaction only for HIPAA compliance?
No. Redaction is useful for any organization handling sensitive or personally identifiable information (PII).

Q3: Can I customize what gets redacted?
Yes. Admins can define custom redaction rules using regular expressions or predefined patterns.

Q4: Does redaction affect ticket usability?
No. Redacted tickets remain fully usable for support operations, with sensitive data masked.