PI · Portability and Interoperability
PI-03 Secure Deletion of Data
Changed since C5:2020
Basic criterion
Specified which data types the criterion applies to.
Included exception case data deletion procedures if there is a valid court order or known future financial and legal obligations.
Specified the prevention of recovery by forensic means to refer to forensic means that comply with the established rules of technology.
Added requirement regarding the documentation of the deletion.
Wording in C5:2020
Basic criterion
The Cloud Service Provider's procedures for deleting the cloud customers' data upon termination of the contractual relationship ensure compliance with the contractual agreements (cf. PI-02).
The deletion includes data in the cloud customer's environment, metadata and data stored in the data backups.
The deletion procedures prevent recovery by forensic means.
Basic criterion
The cloud service provider's procedures for deleting cloud service customer data, cloud service derived data and account data upon termination of the contractual relationship ensure compliance with the contractual agreements (cf. PI-02). Exceptions are only made if they are required by a valid court order or needed for the fulfilment of known future financial and legal obligations.
Supplementary information
Also applies to 02B
Suitable methods for data deletion are e.g. multiple overwriting or deletion of the encryption key.
The deletion procedures prevent recovery by forensic means that comply with the established rules of technology.
Supplementary information
Also applies to 01B
Suitable methods for data deletion are e.g. multiple overwriting or deletion of the encryption key.
The deletion of the cloud service customer data, cloud service derived data and account data is documented in a manner that enables the cloud service customer to obtain proof of the deletion of its data.
Complementary customer criteria
What cloud service customers implement on their side.
Cloud service customers ensure with suitable controls that the legal and regulatory framework (e.g. legal requirements for storage and deletion) is identified and that the deletion of their data is initiated accordingly.
Related criteria
BSI text from C5:2026 and its changelog: © Federal Office for Information Security 2026, reproduced unchanged under CC BY-ND 4.0. Unofficial site, not affiliated with BSI. Licence and sources