RACF-Controlled ERASE Options

DELETE processing removes catalog and VTOC information; it also makes the associated DASD space available for a new allocation. By default, this process does not erase the data from the disk. Data is erased by overwriting it with binary zeros. Sensitive data should be erased before its space is made available.

You can use RACF® commands to specify an ERASE or NOERASE attribute in generic or discrete profiles. When so specified, these attributes become default attributes for:

DELETE processing of an alternate index or cluster cataloged in a catalog.
Scratch and partial release processing of non-catalog data sets (see z/OS DFSMSdfp Advanced Services for more information).

See Deleting Sensitive Data for more information on deleting sensitive data.