To protect users’ privacy and ensure all data is authorized and properly licensed, Zyra should adhere to a set of robust best practices. Below are key recommendations drawn from industry standards and similar platforms: ## Ensuring User Privacy and Security - **Minimize Personal Data Collection:** Collect **no personally identifiable information (PII)** from users unless absolutely necessary. NOAA’s own privacy policy emphasizes that no personal info is gathered from visitors unless they voluntarily provide it. Any automatic data collection (e.g. IP addresses, browser info) should be anonymized and used only for site analytics or security, not to identify individuals. For example, NOAA sites do log technical details like domain and IP for usage stats, but this **“information does not identify you personally”**. - **Avoid Logging Sensitive Details:** Never record sensitive user data (passwords, API keys, personal info) in application logs or environments. This includes avoiding exposure of IP addresses, command histories, or login tokens in logs or UI outputs. The OWASP guidelines warn to **“store sensitive data only when absolutely necessary”** and *“never store sensitive data in log files”*. In practice, this means disabling or scrubbing any logging of credentials or PII, and not echoing environment variables that contain secrets. - **Secure Credential Handling:** If Zyra uses environment variables or config files for keys and credentials, treat them as secrets. They should be stored securely (e.g. in server-side config or a vault) and **never exposed to the client side or other users’ sessions**. Ensure that user login credentials are stored **only in hashed/encrypted form** if at all (or use federated authentication to avoid storing passwords). Environment variables like database passwords or API tokens should not be accessible from user-level processes. Following the principle of least privilege, do not leak such variables into interactive environments where users run code. - **Isolate User Sessions:** Because Zyra may allow multiple users to run code or visualize data on shared infrastructure, implement strong **sandboxing and access controls**. Each user’s environment (files, data, and history) should be isolated from others. For example, if using JupyterHub-style notebooks, each user gets a separate server/process with file permissions preventing cross-access. This prevents one user from seeing another’s data or any environment variables containing sensitive info. Also, disable any **shared command history** across users – each user’s command history should be private to them (or ephemeral). - **Use TLS and Modern Security Protocols:** All web traffic and data transfers should be encrypted via HTTPS/TLS to prevent eavesdropping. Likewise, internal APIs or data streams should use secure channels. This is standard practice to guard privacy for data in transit, aligning with OWASP recommendations to **encrypt sensitive data in transit**. Also consider enabling features like content security policy, secure cookies, and other web security headers to protect user sessions. - **Transparent Privacy Policy and Consent:** Publish a clear Privacy Policy explaining what data is collected and how it’s used. NOAA provides a good model: it clearly states usage of collected info and that *“we do not collect or use information for commercial marketing”*. Zyra's policy should similarly assure users that their personal data will not be misused. Obtain consent for any data collection beyond essential operation. For example, if you implement usage tracking or analytics, make it opt-in if possible (as **Jupyter** does with its telemetry libraries). - **Limit Tracking and Cookies:** Avoid invasive tracking of users. Use only session cookies as needed for login sessions, and do not employ persistent cookies or third-party trackers without consent. NOAA web guidelines note that their sites **do not use persistent cookies** for general visitors, using only short-term session cookies when necessary. Zyra should follow suit, only using cookies for essential functions (like maintaining a user’s session) and not for profiling. - **Caution with Public Access:** If Zyra is open for broad public use, assume **untrusted environments**. Users may upload arbitrary content or code. Thus, implement security scans for file uploads (to catch malware) and restrict execution privileges (to prevent malicious code from harming the system). Additionally, **warn users against uploading highly sensitive personal data** to a public platform. Similar to Project Jupyter’s public Binder service, which **“cautions users not to use [the service] to process sensitive information”**, Zyra should clearly communicate that the platform is intended for open data and educational or scientific use – not for confidential or regulated data unless proper safeguards are in place. - **Compliance and Data Protection Laws:** Ensure compliance with applicable privacy regulations. For U.S. federal systems, that means following the Privacy Act for any stored personal data and conducting Privacy Impact Assessments if required. If the platform has international users, consider general principles of GDPR (e.g. allow users to delete their account/data upon request, and don’t retain personal data longer than necessary). While NOAA, as a U.S. agency, may not be legally bound by GDPR, adopting its best practices (data minimization, purpose limitation, etc.) improves overall privacy standards. ## Authorized and Licensed Data Usage - **Use Open and Well-Licensed Data:** Zyra should favor **open data** sources and ensure any provided datasets have clear usage licenses. Simply labeling data as “public” is not enough – providing a proper license gives users clarity and legal assurance on how they can use that data. NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey highlights that a data license **“provides assurance to users in how they may use the data”**, expanding its safe reuse. In practice, this means if Zyra offers NOAA datasets or visualizations, explicitly state the data license (e.g. public domain, CC BY, etc.) along with the data. - **Default to Public Domain or CC0 for NOAA Data:** As a U.S. government entity, NOAA data is generally in the public domain. In fact, NOAA Coast Survey formally dedicates its data to the public domain via **Creative Commons Zero (CC0-1.0)**. Adopting CC0 for datasets means *all copyright is removed so anyone may use the data for any purpose*【45†L128-L136】, maximizing reuse. Zyra should publish any NOAA-origin data under CC0 by default (or an equivalent public domain dedication), in line with NOAA’s Open Data strategy. This encourages broad public use and innovation with minimal restriction. - **Encourage Attribution for External Data:** If external (non-NOAA) datasets are integrated or uploaded by users, Zyra should handle licensing carefully. *Require users to specify the source and license of any data they upload*, especially if they choose to share it publicly. Ideally, **encourage users to attach an open license** (such as CC0 or CC BY 4.0) to any data they publish through the platform. Major open science repositories follow this practice – for example, Zenodo suggests that **“CC0 or CC-BY 4.0 are best for data”** uploads. NOAA Coast Survey likewise *encourages external contributors to use CC0-1.0, or at least CC-BY-4.0 if attribution is required*, for any data they provide. These licenses ensure the data can be reused by others while respecting the provider’s terms (attribution, if needed). Zyra's UI could prompt users to pick a license when uploading data, or default to a permissive one. - **Verify User Authorization for Data:** It’s important that users only upload or visualize data that they have the rights to use. Establish **terms of service** that clearly state users must not upload copyrighted or confidential data without permission. For example, if a user tries to visualize proprietary data, they should confirm they are authorized. Zyra could include a checkbox or warning during data import: e.g. “I certify I have the right to use and share this data.” This shifts responsibility to the user while documenting their acknowledgment. Additionally, if the platform is moderated, staff should respond to any complaints or notices of unauthorized content (to remain compliant with policies and copyright laws). - **Tiered Access for Sensitive Data:** In cases where Zyra is used with non-public or sensitive datasets (for instance, internal NOAA projects or research with embargoed data), implement **tiered access controls**. NOAA’s data strategy calls for *“tiered data access practices to protect sensitive and confidential data and respect the rights of individuals and businesses”*. Practically, this means Zyra should support private or restricted projects versus public ones. A user might keep a dataset private to their account or a group, and only share it openly when appropriate. Ensure that data marked private cannot be accessed or discovered by unauthorized users. Role-based permissions and secure authentication are key if handling any non-public data. - **Attribution and Metadata:** When visualizations are produced, encourage **proper attribution** of data sources. Even when data is open, citing the source is a community norm【45†L143-L151】. Zyra could automatically include dataset titles and sources in visualization metadata or outputs. This not only gives credit but also helps others understand provenance and licensing of the data in any published visualization. Maintaining metadata about each dataset (who uploaded it, under what license, source URL, etc.) will also help in governance and in responding to any licensing queries. - **Prevent Data Leakage and Unintended Sharing:** If users upload raw data to the platform, ensure that data remains under their control. Do not automatically publish or share user-uploaded data without their intent. For example, keep user data in private storage unless they actively choose to share or publish it. Implement clear indicators in the UI about data visibility (private vs public), and provide the ability to delete user data on request. This aligns with privacy principles and avoids accidentally “open-sourcing” something the user intended to keep private. - **Follow Open Data Standards and Guidance:** Adopting widely accepted data licensing and privacy standards will bolster trust. NOAA itself has guidelines to make data “open by default” unless restricted by law. Zyra should align with initiatives like NOAA’s Public Access to Research Results and federal open data policies, which require open licensing and free availability of data whenever possible. By using standard open licenses (Creative Commons, Open Data licenses) and including machine-readable license info, Zyra makes it easier for downstream users to know how they can use the outputs. - **Learn from Similar Platforms:** Other data science platforms handle these issues in their own policies. For instance, **Kaggle** requires choosing a license when publishing a dataset and prohibits uploading data you don’t have rights to. **GitHub/Zenodo** integrations encourage open licenses and let users mark datasets as private or public. Zyra can mirror these best practices. Also, consider the **JupyterHub** model for multi-user environments: 2i2c (a Jupyter service provider) explicitly states they **“will not collect user data beyond what is required to run the service”** and that communities may configure retention and privacy settings as needed. Emulating such minimal data collection and giving users control over their data will help Zyra maintain both privacy and compliance. By implementing the measures above, Zyra can confidently protect user privacy and ensure all data usage respects licenses and authorizations. **In summary**, adopt a privacy-by-design approach (collect the least data, secure it well, and be transparent) and a data responsibility approach (use open licenses, require user accountability for uploads, and safeguard any sensitive content). These steps will not only meet legal and ethical standards but also build user trust in a broadly used public platform. **Sources:** - NOAA Privacy Policy – commitment to not collecting personal info without consent and handling of technical visit data (IP, etc.). - OWASP Secure Logging Guidelines – avoid logging sensitive information. - Project Jupyter Public Services FAQ – no user data stored, caution against using public servers for sensitive data. - NOAA Data Strategy 2020 – emphasizes open data sharing while **protecting privacy/confidentiality via tiered access**. - NOAA Office of Coast Survey Data Licensing – adoption of CC0 public domain dedication for NOAA data and need for clear licenses to assure users. Encouragement for external contributions under CC0 or CC-BY licenses. - Zenodo Open Data Guide – recommendation of CC0 or CC-BY 4.0 as best licenses for shared data.