[throwaway2016a]

I'm interested in the right to be forgotten section but I'm confused as too what this article is saying...

How exactly do you "forget" the data on the logs?

One interesting solution that kills two birds with one stone is if you encrypt the personally identifiable information then delete the private key if there is a request to be forgotten. Has the added benefit of also effectively destroying the data in backup copies too.

[Antwnis]

> How exactly do you "forget" the data on the logs?

If we think around the options, you can have either:

i) eventual deletion (log retention policy) ii) compacted topics (and push null values) iii) expensive re-processing of the entire log iv) expensive segment re-write operation

with each option bringing in a new set of challenges

[nerpderp83]

Encrypt with a user specific key when the data enters the log. You can effectively delete all the user specific data by throwing the key away. No tracking down files or reprocessing necessary.

[mk89]

Today’s encryption is strong. Who knows about tomorrow?

[pcl]

Is that acceptable within GDPR requirements?

[nerpderp83]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crypto-shredding

https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/23375/gdpr-general-d...

I believe it would be, but IANAL.

[tscs37]

The GDPR contains exceptions when deleting individual user data is infeasible or if the data in question is a backup, in which case you must only keep a log somewhere so you don't forget to delete again.

[MarkMc]

Dear System Administrator,

We've just hacked your server and wiped the crypto keys for your users. As you know, all your backups are now useless.

Send us $1 million in Bitcoin to get your crypto keys back.

Sincerely,

Hacker McHackface

[kbart]

If somebody managed to hack into your servers deep enough to access private keys, you are f*cked anyway (they can as well delete/encrypt all data), so it's not an argument against user data encryption. Actually, storing private keys safely is easier than bulk data, because you can use dedicated hardware for that - HSM.