KVKK & Turkey

KVKK Compliant Data Erasure Software

NIST 800-88 certified erasure for Law 6698 and the Erasure Regulation Article 9. Turkey-hosted, Turkish audit reports, tamper-proof certificates.

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✓ KVKK 6698 ✓ Erasure Regulation Art. 9 ✓ NIST SP 800-88 ✓ TCK 138 ✓ Turkey-Hosted

The Problem

Formatting is not enough for KVKK compliance.

The KVKK Erasure Regulation requires "irreversible destruction" of media containing personal data. OS-level delete, quick format, and "moving to trash" do not constitute genuine destruction — they can be recovered with basic tools. Wear-leveling on SSDs makes classical methods even less reliable.

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Up to ₺5.7M Fine

KVKK Art. 18 administrative fines (annually updated) and TCK 138 imprisonment cover failure to destroy personal data.

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6-Month Periodic Destruction

Per regulation, expired data must be destroyed at minimum every 6 months. Late destruction itself is a violation.

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Cross-Border Transfer Limits

Article 9 strictly limits cross-border transfer. Turkey-hosted servers are the safest choice for cloud audit records.

Regulation & PIWIPE

How PIWIPE meets KVKK requirements

KVKK

Erasure Regulation Article 9

Methods of personal data destruction

Article 9 lists destruction methods: (a) physical destruction — disk shredding; (b) overwrite — at least 7 random write passes via specialized software; (c) degaussing. PIWIPE applies overwrite per NIST 800-88 and produces a certificate per device. DoD 5220.22-M (3-pass) and Secure Wipe options are also available.

6698

Article 7 — Erasure Obligation

Erasure ex officio when conditions disappear

Law 6698 Art. 7 requires erasure ex officio or upon request when processing grounds disappear. PIWIPE integrates into ITAD processes, laptop refresh, and mobile rotation flows for automated erasure + certification. If the data controller registers processing records to VERBIS, certificates must be retained as proof of destruction.

VERBİS

Data Controllers Registry

KVKK Registry obligation and audit

Data controllers registered to VERBIS must comply with retention periods declared in their personal data inventory. Audit records of expired-data destruction are commonly requested in KVKK inspections. The PIWIPE cloud console provides QR-verifiable certificates ready for audit.

NIST

SP 800-88 + Türkçe Sertifika

Internationally accepted standard for KVKK audit

KVKK does not mandate a specific technical standard, but NIST 800-88 is accepted as industry practice. PIWIPE applies this standard and offers certificates with Turkish headers + QR verification; an English version is also available.

Turkish Audit Document

Audit-ready certificate for KVKK inspection

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Turkey Data Residency

Cloud console cloud.piwipe.com is hosted on servers in Turkey.

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Turkish + English

Certificate language can be Turkish or English.

✓

Periodic Destruction Report

Bulk certificate export for 6-month periods.

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Independent Verification

Public QR verification; KVKK auditor opens without login.

Use Cases

KVKK compliance across Turkish sectors

Every VERBIS-registered controller runs a different retention-destruction cycle; PIWIPE supports concrete scenarios.

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VERBIS-Registered Company

Companies above ₺25M revenue or 50+ employees are VERBIS-registered. PIWIPE periodic destruction output is direct evidence for the "destroyed data category" field in your VERBIS update.

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Periodic Destruction (6-Month)

Regulation requires max 6-month period. The PIWIPE cloud console calendar reminder scans inventory at end of period; expired media sanitized in one click.

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ITAD and Hardware Refresh

Sanitize legacy corporate devices via PIWIPE before ITAD partner handover. Dual certificate (PIWIPE + ITAD) clearly demonstrates chain-of-custody to the Authority inspector.

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Law Firm — Client File

Turkish bar law requires file destruction after specific periods. PIWIPE supports client-tag device grouping; on case closure, certificate is delivered directly to the client.

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Healthcare Facility (TR)

Hospitals and clinics process special-category (health) personal data. NIST 800-88 Purge + Turkish certificate for KVKK + Ministry of Health regulation; periodic destruction report ready for ministry inspection.

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Call Center (Outsource)

Outsourced call centers act as processors; on contract end, all hardware must be sanitized. PIWIPE delivers per-controller reports with certificates.

International standards: NIST 800-88 · GDPR · HIPAA

Compliance Checklist

9-step KVKK pre-audit checklist

A 9-item checklist based on Law 6698 and the Erasure Regulation. Items PIWIPE directly fulfills are (✓); items requiring your written policy are (◐).

✓Retention and Destruction Policy — Regulation Art. 5 mandates a written policy; can be drafted from the PIWIPE template. (◐)
✓Personal Data Inventory — Aligned to VERBIS notification; PIWIPE logs every connected device by serial/type.
✓Periodic Destruction Schedule (≤6 mo) — Cloud console calendar reminder + automatic end-of-cycle inventory scan.
✓Regulation Art. 9 Method Selection — Overwrite / degauss / physical; PIWIPE handles overwrite + verify, plus pre-shred certificate for physical.
✓Turkey Data Residency — cloud.piwipe.com hosted on Turkey servers; cross-border transfer obligation eliminated.
✓Turkish + Sealed Certificate — Turkish header, SHA-256 hash, digital signature; presentable to the Authority inspector.
✓Data Subject Request Workflow — KVKK Art. 13 30-day response window; PIWIPE workflow log tracks the deadline.
✓Operator and Training Record — KVKK training certificate referenced in the operator note field. (◐)
✓Breach Notification Readiness — KVKK Art. 12 requires 72-hour breach notification; the certificate underpins a "no risk" assessment.

Frequently Asked

KVKK & Data Erasure

Is "at least 7 overwrites" mandatory under KVKK?▾

The regulation cites "7 passes" as an example; the actual criterion is "a method that ensures irreversible erasure". NIST 800-88 single-pass + verification is accepted as sufficient on modern hardware. If your policy mandates 7 passes, DoD or custom multi-pass is available.

How are certificates presented in a KVKK audit?▾

Filter by date range, device type, or user in the cloud console and bulk-export PDF/ZIP. Each certificate's QR opens to a verification URL and shows hash integrity.

Does PIWIPE provide a KVKK compliance certificate?▾

KVKK imposes compliance on the data controller, not products. PIWIPE supports the data controller's technical control requirements via ISO 27001 development process and NIST 800-88 implementation. ISO 27001 certificate and compliance document available on request.

Can I erase before retention expires?▾

If retention is legally mandated (e.g., tax, labor law), erasing before expiry is itself a violation. PIWIPE's periodic destruction schedule integrates with retention tables and processes expired records sequentially.

Is cross-border transfer prohibited?▾

KVKK Article 9 does not prohibit transfer; it requires one of (a) explicit consent, (b) adequacy list, or (c) undertaking + Authority approval. PIWIPE's Turkey host option eliminates this obligation entirely; the EU host option is used for GDPR scenarios.

How are certificates integrated with VERBIS notification?▾

For records whose retention has expired in your VERBIS-notified inventory, destruction logs must be kept. Bulk CSV/PDF export by date range from the PIWIPE cloud console supports your VERBIS update notes on "destroyed data categories".

How do we set the periodic destruction date?▾

The regulation requires the periodic destruction interval to be defined in the "retention and destruction policy"; max 6 months is recommended. Set reminder calendars in the PIWIPE cloud console; each cycle ends with a bulk sanitize report. Sample policy available on request.

Is there a specific workflow for law firms?▾

Law firms must destroy client data within periods set by professional law. PIWIPE supports client-tag device grouping and certificate issuance on case closure. The certificate can be shared with the client as part of the closing dossier.

Is separate authorization required for physical destruction?▾

Article 9 accepts physical destruction as one method but requires no separate authorization. In practice, physical destruction (disk shredder, melting) needs chain-of-custody documentation. PIWIPE issues a pre-shred sanitize certificate; the shred operation's photo/signed report can be uploaded to the cloud console and matched to the same certificate.

Turkey Data Residency

Certificates within Turkey — no Article 9 cross-border transfer

KVKK Article 9 imposes strict conditions on cross-border transfer of personal data: (a) explicit consent, (b) the Authority's adequacy list, or (c) undertaking + Authority approval. Since certificates contain PII (device serial, operator email, customer name), storing them on a foreign third-party cloud falls under the Article 9 transfer regime and must be documented in audit. This burden is usually avoidable.

PIWIPE

Customer FTP/SFTP — Within Turkey

Eliminates Article 9 transfer entirely

PIWIPE writes each certificate to the FTP/SFTP server you designate — this can be your own data center, a Turkish hosting provider (TurkNet, Radore, Vargonen, Doruk Net), or your office network. Sync to the PIWIPE cloud console is optional; with it disabled, certificates never leave Turkey. No Article 9 transfer check needed, VERBIS notification's "cross-border transfer" field can stay empty, and the audit answer is a clean "data is in Turkey." Compare with other vendors →

Certify KVKK-compliant erasure with PIWIPE.

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