The Spanish company shaadow.io patents a technology to detect document leaks in companies

May 22. (Portaltic/EP) –

Information leaks are a growing problem for companies around the world. With the objective of Protect organizations’ most sensitive documentsthe Spanish technology company shaadow.io has developed innovative software that allows inserting persistent, non-visible information into text documents, in physical and digital format, helping to detect and locate leaks of confidential information.

This tool seeks to improve the call ‘canary trap’, whose term was coined by the American writer Tom Clancy in his novel ‘Patriot Game’ (1987). This technique was used in 2008 by Elon Musk to identify a Tesla employee who was leaking confidential information to the press.

The operation of a ‘canary trap’ consists of the company distributing several versions of the same confidential document, each one with small – almost imperceptible – changes, to different groups or individuals. If the information is leaked, the company can trace the leaked version to its specific origin, thus identifying the person responsible.

This method not only helps identify the person responsible for the leak, but also acts as a deterrent, since potential leakers know that their actions can be traced. Implementation of this technology requires meticulous planning to ensure that differences between versions are not detectable by users, but identifiable by those responsible for security.

This is what has been proposed to improve shaadow.io through software solutions based on Steganography, artificial intelligence and computer vision“ applied to written documentation. The Spanish company states that “no other cybersecurity system is capable of preventing and controlling the leak of information on paper, screenshots or photographs.”

FROM EMAILS TO SCREENS

Regarding online media, this technological tool creates a ‘digital mark’ of the documents that are shared by email. At the same time, it offers document screen clipping protection (complete or a fragment) and ensures that the hidden information that would identify the culprit of the leak is recorded even when a photograph is taken of the screen of a computer or mobile phone.

Shaadow.io also operates in the physical environment. The hidden information used to identify the different documents shared with each employee It also persists after printing the document and in a future digitization of it. “The hidden information is preserved in each medium jump and will be recoverable,” add the company’s experts.

Shaadow.io’s novel patented technology inserts persistent and invisible information in written documentation. This is key in different fields of action: prevention of information leaks; forensic technical audits (allowing investigation of what happened in a case of security incident); or protection against possible fraud. In the same way, it helps companies comply with data protection regulations and improve access control to sensitive or confidential company data.