Amazon Connect Contact Lens automatically redacts sensitive customer data — and protects customer privacy
Key Takeaways:
- You can enable Contact Lens by adding a Set recording and analytics behavior block to a flow and configuring it for Contact Lens.
- To activate redaction, simply choose Redact sensitive data. Once enabled, this step doesn’t require any further configuration
- Contact Lens automatically scans transcripts and call recordings and redacts sensitive customer data, such as names, addresses, and social security numbers
- Businesses can further protect customer data by setting user-defined permission groups and limiting access to redacted and non-redacted data
Contact Lens, a feature of Amazon Connect, brings many benefits for users. However, one of the most significant advantages is its ability to redact sensitive customer information.
Online customers often find themselves prone to personal information theft. Having a system that protects customer data not only enhances trust between clients and your businesses but also saves companies from potential litigations and financial implications. The Contact Lens redaction feature makes customer data protection easy.
How does Contact Lens redaction work?
The Contact Lens redaction capability is based on machine learning technology. The machine learning tech makes use of speech-to-text analytics and natural language processing (NLP) to identify sensitive customer conversation data.
Once the redaction option is activated, all customer conversations are scanned, and sensitive data is identified and removed. The redaction feature is programmed to automatically detect and redact data such as names, addresses, and social security numbers from transcripts and call recordings.
Access to redacted and non-redacted customer data can be further restricted through user-defined permission groups.
How to enable Contact Lens redaction
The first step to enabling redaction is activating Contact Lens in Amazon Connect.
Contact Lens can be enabled in only a few steps: Set the recording and analytics behavior block to a flow and configure it for Contact Lens.
After adding the Set recording and analytics behavior block to a contact flow, find Call recording in the contact block. Under Call recording, choose On, Agent and Customer. Contact Lens can only be used by recording both agent and customer calls.
Once call recording is configured, find the Contact Lens speech analytics option and click the checkbox to enable it. You can choose Post-call analytics or Real-time analytics depending on your preference. If you can’t see Contact Lens speech analytics, then Amazon Connect Contact Lens has not been enabled for your instance. You can enable it by updating instance settings.
Now, select your preferred language and hit Save. Here is a list of supported languages.
If the contact is being transferred to another queue or agent, all the above-mentioned steps will have to be repeated. Another Set recording and analytics behavior block will have to be added with Contact Lens and Enable analytics activated. This is necessary because the transfer generates a second contact ID and CTR and Contact Lens will have to run on the additional CTR as well.
Once Contact Lens is enabled, you are now all set to activate the redaction feature. All you have to do is choose Redact sensitive data in the contact flow. This step doesn’t require any additional configurations — Contact Lens can determine what kind of data needs redaction and applies those redactions once the customer call is disconnected.
You can also dynamically enable Contact Lens and redaction using contact attributes such as customer language.
Where do redacted files go?
The redacted files end up in the Amazon S3 bucket: Connect-instanceARN/Analysis. You will not be able to access these files through the Amazon Connect console.
Contact Lens generates three types of files when redaction is activated: A redacted file, an original and analyzed file, and a redacted audio file.
The redacted file is generated by default and has the sensitive data expunged. You can see a redacted file sample here.
The original (raw) and analyzed file is only generated when you choose the option of Get redacted and original transcripts with redacted audio in the block Set recording and analytics behavior. You can see an example of an original and analyzed file here.
The redacted audio file is saved with the sensitive data as silent. These muted times in the audio files are not flagged as non-talk time in the Amazon Connect console or anywhere else.
You have the option to use file retention policies to determine how long you want to keep these files.
The benefits of Contact Lens redaction
The most significant and obvious benefit of the Contact Lens redaction feature is that it prevents sensitive customer data from exposure. The feature protects customer privacy and data security in an automated and efficient manner.
The use of the redaction feature ensures there are no sensitive data breaches, which helps build trust between businesses and customers over a long period of time. Any leak of private information, such as social security or credit card numbers, can put a company’s reputation on the line.
Businesses that operate online can also save themselves from litigation and subsequent financial losses by adding this extra layer of protection around customers’ sensitive information.
Important: Make sure to review the redacted output
The Contact Lens redaction feature has been pre-programmed to discern and remove sensitive data. There is a possibility that the feature may not be able to efface all instances of data that is deemed sensitive. It is recommended that you check all redacted outputs to ensure the redaction process is meeting your needs.
CloudHesive is an Amazon Managed Services Partner organization that can give you expert advice about all your Amazon Connect optimization queries. CloudHesive is the right place to be for all your cloud-based business transformation concerns. Contact the team here to talk about the best way to set up Amazon Connect, including Contact Lens, for your business.
