Cetrom Opens Beta Enrollment for Cetrom SENTINEL™, a Precision DLP Redaction Engine Built for Accounting Firms Adopting AI

 Cetrom SENTINEL™ (Preview) intercepts and redacts client-identifying data before it ever reaches an AI platform, giving CPA firms a path to AI productivity that respects the obligations they already carry.

Columbia, MD – June 16, 2026 - Cetrom Information Technology, Inc., the leading provider of secure, intelligent cloud hosting solutions for accounting firms, today announced that beta enrollment is now open for Cetrom SENTINEL™ (Preview), a firm-side redaction engine that detects and removes sensitive client data from AI prompts and connected data flows before they leave the firm’s custody boundary. Enrollment is open exclusively to current Cetrom clients, with a limited first cohort.

The Problem: General-Purpose AI Processes Whatever It’s Given, Including Protected Client Data

AI assistants are transforming how professionals research, draft, and analyze. But general-purpose AI platforms share a structural blind spot: they process whatever users type or upload. For a CPA firm, “whatever users type” routinely includes Social Security numbers, EINs, financial account numbers, and tax return information protected under IRC Section 7216, the FTC Safeguards Rule, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

The leading enterprise AI vendors are explicit that content inspection is the customer’s job: none ship a native engine that redacts sensitive data before it reaches the model. And the mainstream enterprise Data Loss Prevention (DLP) tools that do inspect traffic are largely block-only. They can stop a prompt containing an SSN, but they cannot clean it and let the work continue.

That leaves firms with three bad options: ban AI and forfeit the productivity gains, block aggressively and frustrate staff into shadow-IT workarounds, or trust every keystroke and accept exposure the firm cannot see, measure, or defend. Cetrom built SENTINEL to create a fourth option.

The Solution: Redact and Process, Not Block and Hope

Cetrom SENTINEL™ operates as a protected data path hosted within Cetrom’s secure datacenter environment, between the firm and its sanctioned enterprise AI platform. In preview, SENTINEL is designed to:

• Detect sensitive entities in real time, including SSNs, EINs, account numbers, names, addresses, and other client-identifying information, using purpose-built recognition tuned for the data patterns of accounting and tax work.
• Redact, then deliver. Instead of simply blocking, SENTINEL strips or tokenizes sensitive values and forwards the cleaned request, so staff can keep working while client identities stay inside the firm’s boundary.
• Keep custody where it belongs. Raw client data remains within the firm’s managed environment. The AI platform operates on curated, de-identified content.
• Create an audit trail. Every detection and redaction event is logged, giving firm leadership and security owners evidence of what the control did and when, in support of WISP, FTC Safeguards, and vendor due-diligence documentation.

Cetrom SENTINEL™ reflects the same engineering discipline behind Cetrom’s zero-trust hosting platform, and it is designed to complement, not replace, the contractual and platform-level protections of enterprise AI agreements.

“Accounting firms are being told to adopt AI and to protect client data, and almost nobody is telling them how to do both at once. SENTINEL is our answer: purpose-built data protection capability, built where the data actually lives, so firms can pursue AI productivity with their obligations intact.”

– John Carley, Sr. Principal, Operations & Business Intelligence, Cetrom Information Technology, Inc.

A Practical Control Layer to Support Compliance

Cetrom helps clients understand where technology can support compliance efforts and where firm leadership, partners, and counsel remain essential to decision-making. Determinations under IRC Section 7216, GLBA, and a firm’s own WISP remain the responsibility of the firm, but solutions like this can provide an important control layer to help reduce exposure, strengthen workflows, and support more confident adoption of emerging technologies.

Beta Enrollment Is Now Available to Cetrom Customers

Cetrom SENTINEL (Preview) beta enrollment is open to current Cetrom clients effective today. Cohort seats are limited and will be prioritized for firms with active AI governance initiatives. Participating firms will receive white-glove onboarding, direct access to the Cetrom engineering team, and early influence over the SENTINEL roadmap.

To request enrollment, contact your dedicated Cetrom account manager. Follow Cetrom for SENTINEL preview milestones, capability deep-dives, and general availability news in the months ahead.

About Cetrom

Cetrom is a leading provider of secure, intelligent cloud hosting solutions designed specifically for accounting firms. Built on a foundation of zero-trust security, always-on reliability, and white-glove support, Cetrom empowers accounting firms to modernize their IT without sacrificing compliance, performance, or peace of mind. Cetrom’s mission is to deliver future-proof IT through intelligent, secure, and compliant IT solutions that help accounting firms streamline operations, enhance client experience, and grow confidently in a changing digital world. For more information, please visit cetrom.com.

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Media Contact:
Emily Raines
Chief Sales Marketing Officer (CSMO)
Emily.Raines@cetrom.com
(866) 556-4357 x3

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