Spyke

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Doh...

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I'm wondering if the flattened ones can still be bypassed with vector software. If the pdf's don't have security: open with illustrator or inkscape, delete black shapes, font get left behind as outlines, resave as pdf, OCR with acrobat. Hey presto... Searchable documents again.

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Wow, you literally can just unredact it. Is this illegal?

Haven't looked at one of the Epstein files, I'll leave the legality and content sleuthing up to others. What I am interested in is how these supposedly redacted PDFs were made.

I have dug out my copy of ol' Acrobat pro 9 (fuck Adobe anything after CS6) and have run a few tests. The redact tool is powerful, incredibly easy to use and idiot proof. If there are redacted PDFs that can be hacked (copy & paste) they weren't made using the redact tool in Adobe Pro.

There is a theory going around that DOGE cuts removed Adobe Acrobat licences and the thought of hundreds of untrained FBI or DOJ agents frantically using a black highlighter in MS Word is absolutely hilarious to me. Move fast; break things.