What is assessed during a compliance audit to ensure data handling practices meet legal standards?

During a compliance audit, assessing data retention policies is critical to ensuring that an organization's data handling practices meet legal standards. Data retention policies define how long different types of data should be kept and the specific legal requirements for maintaining that data. The compliance audit verifies that these policies align with applicable laws and regulations, such as data privacy acts and industry standards.

Organizations must demonstrate that they are not keeping data longer than necessary, which can be a violation of regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, or others that stipulate specific retention periods. The audit looks for documented policies, processes in place for data retention, and compliance with those policies, ensuring that data is disposed of properly at the end of its lifecycle.

While data ownership, destruction methods, and classification levels are also important aspects of data governance and security, the primary focus of compliance audits is often on retention to address legal liability and regulatory compliance. This helps organizations protect sensitive information while also mitigating risks associated with failing to adhere to legal requirements.