kustutamine

Kustutamine is a term in Estonian meaning deletion, erasure, or removal. In everyday use, it refers to the act of removing data, documents, or messages from a system or record, and it is a common concept across information technology, digital communications, and information management. The intended effect is that the item is no longer accessible or retained for its original purpose, though the underlying data may or may not remain in storage depending on the method used.

In information technology, kustutamine can be simple deletion, which makes a file or record inaccessible but may leave data recoverable from backups or storage remnants, or secure deletion, which aims to prevent recovery by overwriting, erasing cryptographic keys, or destroying the media. Systems differentiate between soft deletion (logical removal) and hard deletion (physical removal). In database and content-management contexts, deletion may be accompanied by cascade removal, retention policies, or soft delete flags to support recovery or auditing.

Legal and policy contexts: data protection laws in Estonia and the European Union recognize a right to erasure under certain conditions, requiring organizations to delete personal data upon request or when it is no longer needed for the purposes collected. Deletion practices must balance privacy, compliance, and operational needs, including backups and archival requirements. Deletion is also a core aspect of information lifecycle management and cybersecurity, where thorough deletion helps reduce exposure to stale data.