Cloud Provider Industry

FedRAMP-Aligned Data Destruction for Cloud Providers

Witnessed destruction of cloud-fleet SSDs, HDDs, and backup tapes for IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS operators. Methods follow NIST SP 800-88 r1. Per-tenant chain of custody. Certificate in 24 hours, structured for FedRAMP ConMon and SOC 2 evidence.

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  • 24-Hour Certificate of Destruction
  • Bonded & Insured Technicians
  • Continuous Chain of Custody
  • Methods follow NIST SP 800-88 r1
  • Witnessed Destruction

What Cloud Providers Owe Their Tenants on Media Destruction

Cloud providers carry destruction obligations both upstream (to their auditors — FedRAMP 3PAO, SOC 2 CPA, ISO 27001 registrar) and downstream (to tenants, who inherit destruction documentation from the provider). The dominant control framework is NIST SP 800-53 r5 MP-6 (Media Sanitization) referenced by FedRAMP, with SOC 2 Trust Services Criterion CC6.5 covering logical and physical access including media disposal.

Three operational constraints define cloud provider destruction. First, the FedRAMP continuous-monitoring window means destruction documentation must be available within the monthly ConMon evidence cycle — Data Destruction Inc. delivers within 24 hours. Second, multi-tenant fleet decommissioning requires per-tenant chain-of-custody segregation; tenants must be able to verify their own assets were destroyed independently of other tenant assets. Third, encryption-at-rest doesn’t substitute for physical destruction at end of life — NIST 800-88 r1 Destroy is the method that closes the audit loop for SaaS and IaaS providers.

Every job produces per-tenant Certificates of Destruction, a master fleet-level chain-of-custody log, and FedRAMP ConMon-ready evidence packages — the documentation cloud providers forward to tenants and upload to their own FedRAMP SAR repositories.

Regulations Your Business Must Follow

FedRAMP NIST 800-53 MP-6 inheritance
FedRAMP-authorized cloud providers must implement or inherit NIST 800-53 MP-6 (Media Sanitization). Destruction documentation is part of the monthly ConMon evidence package uploaded to the agency's Security Assessment Report repository.
NIST SP 800-88 r1 Guidelines for Media Sanitization
The federal benchmark for media sanitization methods referenced by FedRAMP and SOC 2 audit firms. Our destruction methods map to the Destroy category for HDDs, SSDs, flash, and magnetic tape.
SOC 2 Type II Trust Services Criterion CC6.5
Logical and physical access controls must include media disposal that prevents recovery of customer data. Physical destruction (shredding to NIST 800-88 r1 specifications) is the SOC 2 audit-defensible disposal method.
Tenant Regulatory Inheritance HIPAA, GLBA, PCI, CMMC
Cloud tenants inherit destruction documentation from the provider. Per-tenant Certificates of Destruction are formatted to satisfy the tenant's own audit regime (HIPAA OCR, GLBA examiner, PCI QSA, CMMC C3PAO).
ISO 27001 Annex A.8.10 Information deletion
ISO 27001-aligned providers must securely delete information when no longer required. Physical destruction conforms to A.8.10 information deletion controls and produces documentation auditable by ISO 27001 registrars.

What Cloud Provider Buyers Face — and How We Solve It

  • Our FedRAMP 3PAO needs ConMon evidence every month.

    Certificate of Destruction is delivered within 24 hours of destruction — well inside the FedRAMP monthly continuous-monitoring evidence window. The certificate includes NIST 800-88 r1 method citation, NIST 800-53 MP-6 conformance, and asset inventory for direct upload to the SAR repository.

  • Tenants want to know their specific assets were destroyed.

    Per-tenant chain-of-custody segregation means each tenant can receive a Certificate of Destruction listing only their own assets — by tenant ID, account number, or other tenant-identifying reference. Cross-tenant documentation is never shared.

  • SOC 2 CC6.5 needs evidence physical destruction occurred, not encryption alone.

    Every Certificate of Destruction shows physical destruction method per asset (shredding to ≤25 mm HDD / ≤2 mm SSD). This is the artifact your SOC 2 auditor reviews to close CC6.5. Encryption-at-rest is not a substitute for physical destruction at end of life under SOC 2 audit standards.

  • Cloud-fleet flash is destroyed on a rolling decommissioning schedule.

    Our service supports rolling decommissioning: weekly, biweekly, or monthly pickups with per-cycle Certificates of Destruction. Each cycle is a separate audit event with its own chain of custody, suitable for FedRAMP ConMon and SOC 2 continuous-evidence collection.

  • Backup tapes from cloud-fleet snapshots need degauss-plus-shred.

    Backup tape media is degaussed (NSA/CSS evaluated degausser) and then physically shredded. Tape destruction is logged on a separate manifest from disk destruction for audit clarity, with both events tied to the master Certificate.

  • Hyperscale regions decommission entire AZs in compressed windows.

    Our enterprise workflow processes 5,000+ drives per day. Multi-day AZ decommissioning windows can move 30,000+ drives with full per-tenant chain of custody. Past projects have closed entire availability zones with complete FedRAMP and SOC 2 evidence packages.

Audit Documentation You Receive

  • Certificate of Destruction

    Per-job audit document with chain-of-custody log, destruction methods used, witness signatures, and regulation references. Issued by Data Destruction Inc. within 24 hours.

  • Chain of Custody Log

    Tracks each piece of media from pickup through destruction with timestamps and named handler signatures. Required for audit defense.

  • Serialized Inventory

    Asset-by-asset inventory with serial numbers, manufacturer, model, and asset tag for every destroyed drive. Reconciled against the pickup manifest before destruction.

  • Witness Signatures

    Named-witness verification with printed names, signatures, dates, and times. Customer-witnessed at your facility or independent third-party witnessed at our destruction facility.

  • Insurance Certificate (on request)

    General liability and cyber liability coverage information for your records, audit team, or insurance broker.

  • Tenant-Inheritance Evidence Package

    Per-tenant documentation package formatted for the tenant's audit regime — SOC 2 evidence for tech tenants, HIPAA OCR for healthcare tenants, FedRAMP ConMon for government tenants, CMMC for defense tenants.

CoD

Certificate of Destruction

Issued by Data Destruction Inc. within 24 hours of destruction

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you sign a non-disclosure agreement or contract before pickup?
Yes. Data Destruction Inc. signs an NDA or vertical-specific contract with every cloud provider client before any pickup is scheduled. The document is delivered electronically within 4 business hours of quote acceptance and is countersigned before our truck is dispatched. Both parties retain the executed document for the full 7-year documentation retention period.

What does the Certificate of Destruction include for Cloud Provider audits?
The Certificate of Destruction includes six audit fields: asset serial numbers, destruction method used, date and time of destruction, named witness signature, operator and company identification, and chain-of-custody reference number. Each field is populated within 24 hours of destruction. The certificate format is built to satisfy auditor, regulator, and insurance documentation requirements.

Can a cloud provider client witness the destruction?
Yes. Customer-witnessed destruction is available at your facility through our mobile shredding service, or you can send a representative to witness destruction at our facility. The witness signs the Certificate of Destruction with printed name, signature, and timestamp. Independent third-party witnessing is also available when required by your audit or insurance program.

What destruction methods do you use for cloud provider media?
We use shredding for HDDs (≤25 mm particle size), shredding for SSDs and flash media (≤2 mm particle size), and degaussing followed by shredding for magnetic backup tapes. Each method maps to NIST SP 800-88 r1 Destroy category for the specific media type. The method used for each asset is recorded on the Certificate of Destruction.

How does your service integrate with FedRAMP continuous monitoring?
Certificate of Destruction is delivered within 24 hours of destruction — well inside the FedRAMP monthly ConMon evidence window. The certificate includes NIST 800-88 r1 method citation, NIST 800-53 MP-6 conformance, asset inventory, and chain-of-custody reference suitable for direct upload to the agency's Security Assessment Report evidence repository as part of monthly ConMon submission.

Can tenants receive a Certificate listing only their own assets?
Yes. Per-tenant chain-of-custody segregation means each tenant can receive a Certificate of Destruction listing only their own assets, referenced by tenant ID, account number, or other tenant-identifying field. Cross-tenant documentation is never shared. Tenants can submit their per-tenant Certificate to their own auditor (HIPAA OCR, GLBA examiner, PCI QSA, etc.).

Does your documentation close SOC 2 CC6.5 for cloud-fleet decommissioning?
Yes. Every Certificate of Destruction shows the physical destruction method per asset (shredding to ≤25 mm HDD / ≤2 mm SSD), which is the SOC 2 CC6.5 audit evidence for media disposal that prevents recovery of customer data. The certificate format has been accepted by SOC 2 auditors in Type II engagements.

Can you handle rolling decommissioning instead of one-shot project?
Yes. Our service supports rolling decommissioning on weekly, biweekly, or monthly cycles. Each cycle is a separate audit event with its own chain of custody and Certificate of Destruction. Rolling cycles are well-suited for FedRAMP ConMon and SOC 2 continuous-evidence collection. Per-cycle documentation feeds directly into the cloud provider's evidence repository.

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Bonded · Insured · 24-Hour Certificate of Destruction · Methods follow NIST SP 800-88 r1

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