Binayak reports on information security, privacy and scientific research in health and environment with explanatory pieces. He also edits the news sections of the newspaper.
Articles by Binayak Dasgupta
One year of Covid-19: How India fought the virus
In March of 2020, when the world first caught a glimpse of the devastation that the coronavirus would go on to unleash, experts feared India would suffer heavily as well.
Published on Mar 01, 2021 04:36 AM IST
Cyber security brass steps in as experts flag delay in fixing lapses
Late on Saturday, Jackson published a blog with an overview of the vulnerabilities that, without citing specifics, mentioned the discovery of 35 instances of credentials pairs, 3 instances of sensitive files, over 13,000 personally identifiable information instances, dozens of police FIRs.
Published on Feb 22, 2021 03:07 AM IST
Binayak DasguptaSunetra Choudhury, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Ex-defence personnel hit by phishing attack
No government data has been compromised since sensitive systems are sequestered, officials said.
Published on Feb 21, 2021 01:54 AM IST
Binayak DasguptaAnisha Dutta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Phishing attack targets Indian officials through rogue email from government ID
HT could not immediately determine the total number of officials targeted, and if any computers were successfully breached.
Updated on Feb 18, 2021 09:03 AM IST
Anisha DuttaBinayak Dasgupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Election officials in Kashmir targeted by hackers: Experts
The discovery was made by San Francisco-based Lookout, which found the evidence of the campaign sitting in unsecured “command and control” servers with 18GB of data.
Updated on Feb 12, 2021 04:55 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi:
Tussle intensifies: Twitter, govt at odds over blocking
A government official, who asked not to be named, said Twitter cannot pick and choose which accounts to block.
Published on Feb 11, 2021 05:22 AM IST
Deeksha BhardwajBinayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
Misinformation may hit vaccination drive: Study
Misinformation about vaccines could threaten the goal of herd immunity to Covid-19, according to the findings of a first-of-its-kind experiment in which thousands of people in the US and UK became less willing to take doses once they were exposed to myths about vaccine safety and potential harm
Published on Feb 09, 2021 12:59 PM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
The dilemmas in regulating online speech
The evolution of technology in the social media domain during this decade has created vulnerabilities, which are being exploited by bad actors to strike at the heart of democracy and democratic institutions
Updated on Feb 07, 2021 06:44 AM IST
Covid-19 variant in UK picks up worrying South Africa mutation
Vaccine makers suggested that it could make immunity from vaccines and infection of the old variant less effective.
Updated on Feb 03, 2021 08:24 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
Mutation worry grows for vaccines
The results also appear to reinforce the notion that vaccines that elicit higher immunogenicity – measured as antibody titers -- could be leading to higher efficacy.
Updated on Jan 30, 2021 07:08 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
In boost for India, Novavax finds vaccine 89% effective
Novavax said its two-shot vaccine showed an overall efficacy rate of 89%, with a high of 96% against the dominant global variant of the virus.
Updated on Jan 30, 2021 04:50 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Covid: South African, Brazilian strains raise new fears on vaccines, immunity
The first major mutation of the Sars-Cov-2 virus was reported from the UK in the so-called B.1.1.7 variant (also called VOC202012/01) ; authorities said in December that it was more infectious, and it was later seen as a factor in leading to the country’s worst wave yet.
Updated on Jan 21, 2021 04:57 AM IST
SA, Brazil strains raise new fears on vaccines, immunity
Mutations of the Sars-Cov-2 virus found in South Africa and Brazil have begun worrying authorities and scientists who say that these – they are distinct from the new variant first found in the UK – could trigger more re-infections, even reduce vaccine efficacy, though more tests are underway
Published on Jan 21, 2021 12:09 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
Experts warn against partial immunity, mutation risks
The two experts also said that it is important to ensure that immunisation programmes avoid controversy that could fuel vaccine scepticism. For instance, the approval to a vaccine without efficacy data “was not a good idea”, according to John P Moore.
Published on Jan 17, 2021 02:47 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
At stake, the future of democracy
The roots of the attack on the Capitol can be traced to an alternative, fact-free, conspiracy theory based narrative, fuelled by technology
Published on Jan 10, 2021 09:24 PM IST
Large-scale study in UK finds new strain could be tougher to control
The variant has 23 changes in its genetic code, with some that experts say makes it more transmissible. Its outbreak forced several countries to stop travel to and from the UK in the days leading to Christmas.
Updated on Jan 03, 2021 05:20 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Binayak Dasgupta
2021: Year of the shot in the Arm
The experiences in the US, the UK, and several European countries over 2020 have demonstrated that the factory-to-syringe process can throw up several challenges, and that even the most resourceful of nations can struggle with a process that can be as labyrinthine as it needs to be precise.
Updated on Jan 01, 2021 03:17 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Binayak Dasgupta
Reading the clues from Covaxin early trial data
Bharat Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine candidate, jointly developed with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), passed the two crucial tests in clinical trials – showing it was safe and triggered an immune response – according to early stage analysis released on Wednesday.
Updated on Dec 25, 2020 04:59 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Binayak Dasgupta
Covid-19: Learning to beat a virus
The world, scientifically and technologically, has never been better prepared to deal with a pandemic than it is right now and our efforts to tackle Sars-CoV-2 capitalise on decades of advances.
Updated on Dec 24, 2020 11:40 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Binayak Dasgupta
What we know so far about the new coronavirus strain
There is, however, no evidence yet to suggest it is more lethal or causes more severe illness, or that vaccines will be any less effective against the new variant
Updated on Dec 22, 2020 04:57 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Binayak Dasgupta
Don’t create a world of immunity haves and have-nots
Governments and businesses must chart a path out of this pandemic that minimises inequities.
Updated on Dec 02, 2020 01:09 PM IST
Symptomatic patients four times more likely to spread virus: Study
The study was based on a meta-analysis – a uniform statistical review – from 45 contact-tracing studies from around the world published till mid-July.
Updated on Nov 29, 2020 06:36 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
AstraZeneca plans new vaccine trial as efficacy questioned
The announcement comes days after the vaccine developers said their two-shot inoculation was 70% effective in preventing Covid-19 in an interim analysis of their clinical trial, with a particular regimen in which the first shot was at half-strength showing a higher 90% efficacy.
Updated on Nov 27, 2020 05:36 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Binayak Dasgupta and Rhythma Kaul, New Delhi:
Test frequency, not accuracy, may be key to controlling outbreak: Study
The findings hold significance for a city like Delhi where the proportion of tests turning positive has consistently been higher than the acceptable limit of 8% for weeks now.
Updated on Nov 23, 2020 01:08 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
Govt to regulate OTT, online news platforms
The change was made through the amendment of Allocation of Business Rules and announced through a gazette notification dated November 9 by the Cabinet secretariat.
Updated on Nov 12, 2020 06:39 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Amandeep Shukla and Binayak Dasgupta
Pfizer says its Covid vaccine 90 per cent effective
Eight months into the crisis, the preliminary results pave the way for the companies to seek an emergency-use authorisation from regulators if further research shows the shot is also safe. The vaccine may be available by the end of the month.
Published on Nov 10, 2020 03:16 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Binayak Dasgupta
Over 31 million exposed to Covid in Karnataka: Sero study projections
The researchers collected samples from close to 3,000 households in 20 districts in the state from mid-June through August 2020 and also swabbed respondents for RT-PCR tests to determine active infections.
Updated on Nov 10, 2020 03:03 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Binayak Dasgupta
In new online abuse menace, AI bot turns women’s photos into nudes
Deepfake tracking agency discovers bot used generated over 100,000 nude images of women from regular photographs
Updated on Oct 21, 2020 10:40 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
1 vaccine may have reached initial efficacy test
Pfizer’s is among half a dozen experimental vaccines being tested in large scale (Phase 3) human trials and, according to science informatics and analytics company Airfinity, it is projected to have had enough Covid-19 cases in the trial for its first interim analysis.
Updated on Oct 03, 2020 03:57 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Binayak Dasgupta
Racist machines? Twitter’s photo preview problem reignites AI bias concern
The problem was first discovered when education tech researcher Colin Madland posted about how video-calling software Zoom cropped the head out of a black person on the other side of a call, seemingly unable to detect it as a human face.
Updated on Sep 21, 2020 06:11 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi: