Redaction Log

A redaction log (Redaction Log or Audit Trail) is a complete documentation of all redaction operations performed. It documents who redacted which data, when, and in which document. For organizations subject to the GDPR, such a log is an important instrument for demonstrating compliance with data protection regulations — in particular to supervisory authorities.

The Datenmaske redaction log contains, for each action, a timestamp, the user ID, the action type (detection, confirmation, rejection, redaction), the type of detected data (e.g., name, IBAN, email), as well as SHA-256 checksums of both the original and the redacted document. These checksums allow the integrity of both documents to be verified cryptographically.

A redaction log is relevant not only for the GDPR (Article 30 — records of processing activities) but also for other compliance requirements such as ISO 27001, BSI-Grundschutz (BSI IT-Grundschutz), or industry-specific regulations. It serves as evidence that the organization takes its obligation to minimize data seriously and documents that personal data has been properly removed.