Cryptographers uncover blacked-out words

This is cool (or not). You know those redacted (blacked-out) portions of declassified documents that the government releases only after countless FOIA requests and intense public pressure?

Well, cryptographers in Europe have figured out how to unmask those hidden words. By way of example, Eurocrypt analyzed the infamous Intelligence PDB released in April to the 9/11 commission and revealed that the intelligence group source blacked out in the portion, stating that Osama bin Laden was planning an attack in the United States, was actually Egypt's.

The cryptographers used mathematical equations based on probabilities and measurements of the font used to narrow the possible words that could fit in that blackened area. (I'm not sure what the crypts would've done if the blacked-out area was more than a word or two.)

This development can only have serious repercussions for future FOIA releases (as the NYT mentions briefly): (1) the govt. may further restrict ever releasing certain documents for fear of threatening national security; and/or (2) the govt. may overly redact entire sections in order to protect the identity of only a few words.

I can just feel that chilling effect. Damn those scientists!

Hat tip: Slate