Tech Podcast: Iran Elections Online, US Cybersecurity, and Emergency ICT in Pakistan

June 05, 2009

Fighting between the Pakistani Army and Taliban forces in the Swat Valley has created nothing short of a humanitarian disaster. More than two million people have been forced to flee their homes, becoming what the aid business calls Internally Displaced Persons, or IDPs. United Nations groups such as the World Food Program have been on the ground for weeks now, trying to get aid to where it is most needed. Those groups can't get that done without modern, secure communications. And that means two-way radios, laptops, GPS, and satellite data uplinks. And that's where people like Dane Novarlic come in. He's an emergency response coordinator for the World Food Program. He and his team go into areas affected by natural disasters and wars, and help aid groups get connected to each other, and to the rest of the world.

Right now, Dane and his team are in the Swat Valley, and for my money, my interview with Dane is the highlight of this week's Technology Podcast (WTP 245 ). Just click on the fancy player below to listen:

But wait, there's more. This week's podcast also takes a look at how Iran's presidential candidates are going online in an effort to win votes. Needless to say, it's causing quite a stir. We also take a closer look at President Obama's recent proposal to beef up America's computer security by appointing a kind of "cybersecurity czar." It's a move that's won praise. For a reality check, I always like to stop by Bruce Schneier's blog. Have a read of what he thinks of Obama's plan.

We round out the podcast with an item on...wait for it...banana fuel, and on the tens of thousands of surveillance cameras that will be trained on Chinese students during their national exams. The latter is a move to stop what officials say is rampant high-tech cheating during the all-important tests.