BDR-07: Data Retention and Destruction Standards

Control Description

Formal data retention and destruction standards have been developed to provide guidelines for the retention of data for required periods of time, and the Company disposes of PII/PHI data in accordance with its established retention and destruction standards.

Plain Meaning

This control requires organizations to have formal, documented standards that define how long different types of data should be retained and how they should be securely disposed of when no longer needed, with special attention to personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI).

Implementation

1. Data Retention Standards Document

Policy Structure

1. Purpose and Scope: Define what data is covered
2. Data Classification: Categorize data by sensitivity
3. Retention Periods: Specify how long each data type is kept
4. Destruction Methods: Define secure disposal procedures
5. Roles and Responsibilities: Who does what
6. Monitoring and Compliance: How to verify adherence

Sample Policy Framework

# Data Retention and Destruction Policy

## Data Classifications
- **Public**: Marketing materials, public announcements
- **Internal**: Employee communications, internal reports
- **Confidential**: Business plans, financial data
- **Restricted**: PII, PHI, customer data, passwords

## Retention Periods
- Customer PII: ??? years after last interaction
- Employee records: ??? years after termination
- Financial records: ??? years
- Log files: 3 years
- Backup data: 90 days
- Development data: 90 days

## Destruction Methods
- Electronic data: Secure deletion (3-pass overwrite)
- Physical media: Shredding or degaussing
- Cloud data: Permanent deletion with verification

Key Success Factors

1. Clear Standards: Well-documented retention and destruction procedures
2. PII/PHI Focus: Special attention to sensitive personal data
3. Automation: Automated tools to enforce standards
4. Monitoring: Regular compliance checking
5. Training: Employee awareness of data handling requirements

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• No Standards: Without formal standards, procedures are inconsistent
• No PII Focus: PII/PHI requires special handling
• No Monitoring: Without monitoring, standards aren't enforced
• No Training: Employees must understand the standards

Related Controls

• BDR-06: Data retention and destruction implementation
• BDR-08: Daily incremental backups
• BDR-09: Backup encryption

Related Links

Policy Resources

• Data Retention Policy Template
• PII Handling Best Practices

Compliance Resources

• HIPAA Data Retention
• GDPR Data Protection
• SOC 2 Data Handling

Tools and Templates

• Data Classification Guide
• Retention Schedule Template
• PII Detection Tools