Microsoft Corp. has quietly released a redaction tool for Office Word 2003 to let users black out sections of confidential data from documents.

The security tool, available as a free download, plugs into Microsoft Office Word 2003 to offer a simple interface for marking sections of a document for redaction.

The tool runs on Windows 2000 Service Pack 3; Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP Service Pack 1.

The tool could come in useful for government departments and businesses worried about the leakage of sensitive documents and confidential legal information.

Source: eWeek