# ISO/IEC 27701:2025 A.3.31 — Test information

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27701-2025/a-3-31-test-information
- Section: [Compliance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance) › [ISO/IEC 27701:2025 PIMS Controls](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27701-2025) › Security considerations
- Last updated: 2026-06-05
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

**ISO/IEC 27701:2025**·Annex A `A.3.31`·high·Component: **Security considerations**

## What this control requires

> Protect and manage test information related to PII processing; avoid use of real PII where possible. Implementation: Use synthetic data or equivalent protections; document selection and controls. Justification: Prevents leakage of PII through test environments.
> 
> — ISO/IEC 27701:2025, Annex A A.3.31

### In plain English

Protect and manage test information related to PII processing; avoid use of real PII where possible. In practice, this means you can prove you implement test information-level controls on a defined cadence.

## Why it matters

ISO 27701 is the international way to evidence the GDPR principle of accountability: certified PIMS controls translate directly into the records, contracts and rights-handling that supervisory authorities want, and into the privacy-engineering evidence SOC 2 + Privacy auditors and enterprise procurement teams ask for.

This control is rated **high**. Auditors expect a named owner, a remediation SLA, and a tooling artefact that evidences continuous operation.

## What an auditor looks for

PIMS auditors expect ISO 27001 to be implemented first and then the 27701-additional controls tested. For PII controllers they look at lawful-basis and rights-handling evidence; for PII processors they look at customer-instructions, sub-processor controls and return/transfer/disposal evidence.

Within **Security considerations**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Annex A A.3.31) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles.

## How to implement

#### Secure Development

**Pipeline.** Require code review, SAST (Semgrep / Snyk Code), SCA (Dependabot / Renovate), secret-scanning and IaC scanning in the merge pipeline.

**Branch protection.** Protected branches enforce reviews, signed commits and passing CI before merge; document the protection rules as the control evidence.

### Operational checklist

-   **Implement.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Document.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Protect.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Scope:** test information.

## Evidence to collect

-   **Policy Document.** A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document.

Signed policies, procedures, and registers document the safeguard. Focus: Test information.

## Common pitfalls

-   CI security checks set to warn-only; the merge button is faster than the security feedback.

## Related controls in ISO/IEC 27701:2025

-   [**Annex A A.3.6** — Labelling of information](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27701-2025/a-3-6-labelling-of-information)
-   [**Annex A A.3.24** — Information backup](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27701-2025/a-3-24-information-backup)
-   [**Annex A A.1.4.2** — Limit collection](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27701-2025/a-1-4-2-limit-collection)
-   [**Annex A A.1.4.3** — Limit processing](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27701-2025/a-1-4-3-limit-processing)
-   [**Annex A A.1.4.4** — Accuracy & quality](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27701-2025/a-1-4-4-accuracy-quality)
-   [**Annex A A.1.4.6** — De-identification / deletion](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27701-2025/a-1-4-6-de-identification-deletion)

## References

-   [ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 — ISO/IEC 27701:2025](https://www.iso.org/standard/85819.html)
-   Catalogue identifier: `Annex A A.3.31`

Topics: data protectionsecure developmentdata loss prevention