How de-identification works

Who does it

An independent de-identification firm, selected with the estate, performs the de-identification under a written standard. White Knight Data does not de-identify, scrub or certify data.

Each party has a defined role:

• The estate and its counsel control every decision. They select the independent firm with us.
• We prepare the inventory and identify the categories to be excluded.
• The data moves from the estate to the independent firm, which applies the written standard and certifies the result.
• We check that the firm's certificate covers what was transferred, and we keep the audit trail.

What is excluded before de-identification

Some categories should not be sold at all, whether or not they could be de-identified. During screening, we identify categories that should be excluded or protected:

• Structured consumer databases.
• Employee personnel and medical records.
• Privileged communications.
• Data owned by vendors.
• Material subject to confidentiality agreements or statutory protection.

Only the remaining data goes to the independent firm. Each exclusion is written to the audit log.

Common methods

De-identification firms usually combine several techniques. Which ones apply, and how, is set by the written standard for each engagement. The list below describes general practice, not the process of any particular firm.

• Removing direct identifiers: names, email addresses, phone numbers, account numbers and street addresses.
• Masking or generalising quasi-identifiers, the details that can identify someone in combination, for example by reducing dates to a month or year and locations to a region.
• Consistent pseudonyms: each person is replaced by the same placeholder throughout, so relationships between records survive without revealing who anyone is.
• Redacting free text, such as email bodies and chat messages, using automated detection followed by human review.
• Testing re-identification risk: checking whether the output can be linked back to individuals, alone or in combination with other information.

For health information, the HIPAA Privacy Rule recognises two methods, which are useful reference points: Safe Harbor, which removes a specified list of identifiers, and Expert Determination, in which a qualified expert determines that the risk of re-identification is very small. They apply to health data; other data is de-identified under comparable standards set in writing for the engagement. Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Guidance Regarding Methods for De-identification of Protected Health Information (opens in a new tab)

Why it matters: the Spirit example

In the Spirit Airlines case, the layers were proposed together:

• The parties excluded passenger and loyalty databases from the sale.
• De-identification of the remaining data was required before transfer.
• Certified de-identification by an independent agent was proposed as a closing condition: nothing transfers until the data is certified de-identified.
• Certification was proposed for each transfer: the agent files an affidavit with the court before the first transfer and every transfer after it.

These are proposed terms. The sale remains subject to court approval. Sources: Bloomberg Law, August 17, 2026 (opens in a new tab); Stretto, September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab); Stretto, October 14, 2026 (opens in a new tab); Spirit Dkt. 1594 (opens in a new tab); Spirit Dkt. 1684 (opens in a new tab)

The Spirit Airlines record: proceedings, objections and responses →

What de-identification cannot do

De-identification reduces the risk that a person can be re-identified. It does not eliminate it: records can sometimes be linked back to individuals when combined with other information. That is why it is one layer among several:

• Exclusions: the most sensitive categories are not sold at all.
• A written standard, applied by an independent firm and tested for re-identification risk.
• Buyer contract restrictions, which can include a commitment not to re-identify, limits on use, and the same terms for any onward transfer.
• Court oversight: the court approves the sale and its terms, and certification can be filed for each transfer.

The certificate

When the independent firm finishes, it certifies the result in writing. The certificate records:

• What was processed.
• The standard that was applied.
• Who certified it.

We check that the certificate covers everything that was transferred. The certificate can be filed with the court for each transfer, as proposed in Spirit. Source: Stretto, October 14, 2026 (opens in a new tab)