Brazil: Where is all the Covid data?

Brazil: Where is all the Covid data?

Author: BBC World Service December 15, 2021 Duration: 37:02

Ministry of Health websites in Brazil are still down following a number of cyber-attacks. Millions of people now do not have access to their Covid-19 vaccination data (including certificates). It is estimated that 50TB of data has been removed by Lapsus$ Group, which is claiming responsibility for the ransomware attack. Dr Patricia Peck, who is on the board of the National Data Protection Authority is on the programme with the latest on the attacks.

First-ever delivery of medicines by drone in Sierra Leone The first-ever delivery of medicines by drone in Sierra Leone has been a success. The drones are not the typical helicopter drones, but small plane types with propellers that have a number of advantages. The fixed-winged drones can carry much heavier payloads over much further distances. We hear from Daniel Ronen from the UK drone specialist, UAVaid, who is behind the project.

Reimagining the new Spider-Man trailer through animation Fans prepared to dedicate hundreds of hours looking for the perfect clips have been making their own trailers that reimagine popular content. One such creation from the YouTube channel 100Bombs Studio has recreated the latest Spider-Man trailer using clips from the original animated series. Filmmaker and critic Maxim Thompson has been talking to us about these projects and how they allow people to engage with films.

The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Ghislaine Boddington

Studio Manager: Giles Aspen Producer: Ania Lichtarowicz

(Image: Hacker with computers in a dark room. Credit: Getty Images)


Every week, the team at Digital Planet from the BBC World Service takes you beyond the headlines to explore how technology is reshaping lives, cultures, and economies across the globe. This isn't just a rundown of gadget releases or corporate earnings; it's a grounded conversation about the real-world impact of our digital choices. You'll hear from engineers in Nairobi, policymakers in Brussels, and coders in São Paulo, offering a genuinely international perspective that challenges the usual Silicon Valley narrative. Each episode digs into the human stories behind the innovations, examining both the promise and the peril of our connected age. We tackle questions about ethics, accessibility, and the unintended consequences of progress, making sense of complex issues with clear, thoughtful reporting. Tune in for a nuanced and curious exploration of our technological moment, where the focus is always on the people designing, using, and living with these tools every day. This podcast provides the context you need to understand not just what's new, but what it actually means.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Digital Planet
Podcast Episodes
The Open Internet for Africa [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:47
We hear about a new plan to drive economies and improve lives across Africa – the Open Internet project between the continent and the EU. A report “The Open Internet as Cornerstone of Digitalisation” is funded by the EU…
Controlling protesters in Iran via phones [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:26
A new report shows how the authorities in Iran can track and control protestors phones. An investigation by The Intercept news organisation has found that mobile phone coverage is being switched from a healthy 5G or 4G n…
The Twitter takeover [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:49
Elon Musk completed on a 44-billion-dollar takeover of Twitter last week. He’s expressed the want to restructure the platform and create a digital ‘town square’, a potential space for free speech, growth and learning. Bu…
Chip exports and US-China relations [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:01
The Biden administration announced a monumental policy shift earlier this month, set to limit and control the exportation of artificial intelligence and semiconductor technologies to China. The restrictions will block le…
5bn mobile phones to become waste in 2022 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:38
The WEEE forum estimates that of the 16 billion mobile phones in the world about 5.3bn will no longer be in use this year. Despite being packed with precious metals like gold, silver and palladium and other recyclable pa…
Internet under attack in Ukraine [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:34
Ukraine has faced internet outages since missile attacks restarted on Monday -a drop of more than 20% was recorded yesterday by The Internet Observatory Netblocks. This loss of connectivity is not thought to be due to cy…
Pandemic pushes women online [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:09
In 2020 more than 40% of the world’s population was not using the internet, with many more women being unable to get online. Now a new global study into digital access in 90 countries shows that although women were dispr…
Tiny robots cure mice with deadly pneumonia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:22
Microrobots have been created and used to treat the most common form of pneumonia that infects patients in ICU. In experiments, currently carried out in mice at the University of California San Diego, the tiny robots swa…
Gamification – does making things fun work? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:07
Do you track your physical activity on your phone, count your daily steps, or how many calories you’ve burnt? Perhaps you are learning a new language using an app or have performance-related leaderboards at work? All the…
Community Networks: Connecting the unconnected [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:54
The Digital Divide in Tribal Communities Across the North American continent, there is a stark difference in the availability of the internet to different communities. Tribal lands are typically remote, rural, and rugged…