Are Your Documents Hiding Something?

• Posted by Geoffrey G. Gussis on February 22nd, 2005


• Filed in Guides, Tips and Practice Pointers, IT/Software/Internet, Risk Management & Compliance

If you haven’t heard of "metadata" yet, it’s time to learn.  Metadata is hidden data that is stored in certain computer files (e.g., Microsoft Word documents, etc.).  When you email documents or provide access to them on your website, your metadata can go along with it.  Some of this hidden data is technical gobbledygook that looks like early plans to the Manhattan Project.  Other metadata, however, is much more dangerous.  Metadata can store earlier changes in a document that you never intended for anyone else to see.  Metadata can also show the names of the document’s authors - and even worse - the private comments these authors inserted into the document.

If you’re thinking that metadata is yet another issue invented by IT departments to boost their budgets, you should think again.   There have been a number of high-profile gaffes involving metadata that show how metadata can get your company into trouble.   For example, the SCO Group (of UNIX litigation fame) tipped its hand in its litigation strategy when savvy web users were able to find references to the Bank of America in documents it filed against DaimlerChrysler.  The metadata danger is not limited to the mundane world of lawyers.  In 2003, a dossier released by the UK to make the case for the war in Iraq was found to contain metadata apparently showing that the document had been plagiarized from the work of a US researcher - but not before Colin Powell cited to it in his presentation before the UN.

Fortunately, software companies have come to the rescue with tools that can remove metadata before it creates any problems.  Check with your IT department for the details.