April 2018 Summaries

Electric scooters have become prevalent in cities such as San Francisco, sparking debate over their impact as a potential public nuisance and the need for regulation regarding where they are parked. While city officials are eager to support eco-friendly transportation options like Bird, Spin, and Lime, concerns remain about the logistical challenges of managing scooter parking. Bird has proposed requiring riders to submit photos of parked scooters to mitigate vandalism, though how effectively companies will address public complaints is yet to be seen. In response to these challenges, Project EON offers a solution for developing rideshare applications that use IoT technology to track scooter locations in real-time, with PubNub providing a scalable infrastructure to handle multiple users and facilitate application innovation without technical constraints.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), ratified in 2016 and enforced from May 25, 2018, is a complex set of data protection regulations designed to safeguard the personal data of EU citizens online, with compliance required globally from any business handling such data. Non-compliance can result in hefty fines amounting to millions of dollars or a percentage of global revenue. PubNub offers tools to help developers with GDPR compliance by providing a checklist and a platform designed with security in mind. The regulation mandates that companies must manage requests from users to access, delete, or transfer their personal data, known as "the right to be forgotten," and ensure that data protection measures extend to third-party vendors. While personal data must be isolated and protected, derived data such as analytical insights do not require deletion, illustrating the complexity of compliance. As the GDPR influences web browsing, users often encounter consent requests for cookie data, emphasizing transparency and user rights over personal data.

Companies operating platforms for IoT, gaming, or web applications must ensure robust data governance and compliance with GDPR, focusing on encryption, consent, and data subject rights. IoT devices, which handle sensitive user data, face vulnerabilities under GDPR, requiring companies to report data breaches within 72 hours and offer users the ability to consent or withdraw consent freely. Children's online data consent, data processing locations, and adherence to privacy by design principles are critical considerations for global compliance. Although blockchain technology promises enhanced data security and governance, its immutability may conflict with GDPR's requirements for data deletion, suggesting it may not be suitable for storing personal data. Partnering with vendors like PubNub can help companies manage GDPR obligations more effectively, especially in multi-tenant environments, by leveraging advanced APIs and SDKs to navigate the complexities of international compliance.

IoT devices are rapidly integrating into mainstream electronics, with predictions of up to 21 billion connected devices by 2020, transforming cities and homes into smart environments through data collection and machine learning. However, the proliferation of IoT devices raises significant security concerns, necessitating robust encryption methods like AES for end-to-end security and the implementation of outbound-only connections to prevent vulnerabilities. The publish-subscribe paradigm, exemplified by PubNub, offers a secure and efficient way to manage IoT device communications on a large scale, using tokens for access control and supporting numerous SDKs for seamless integration across platforms.