Jeremy Fleming, head of the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), fears that the China Digital Yuan could be used to collect user information, control international transactions, and will have negative effects on the International monetary system.

Jeremy Fleming, head of GCHQ, an intelligence and security organization responsible for providing signals intelligence and information assurance to the government and armed forces of the United Kingdom is concerned about the rapid development of the digital Yuan.

Fleming believes that if the digital currency of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is used in other countries, it could have a bad effect on the entire world’s monetary system.

Fleming mentioned the China intention to test the state stable coin (Digital Yuan) during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics means that the China central bank digital currency (CBDC) will become available not only to local residents but also to foreign tourists along with athletes. Olympics participants from all over the world would be able to install a digital yuan wallet that can be used to pay for goods and services during the event.

Fleming believes that in its current form, China’s digital currency can be used to collect user data, as well as to control cross-border transactions. The GCHQ executive is alarmed by the rapid pace of development and testing of the digital yuan in recent years.

According to him, some central banks are still at the stage of exploring the possibilities of their own digital currency, other central banks have already launched it, but no country has yet developed a more advanced pilot digital currency project, except China. Therefore, Fleming said that a more cautious approach is needed when using the digital yuan due to the lack of clear regulatory rules governing the functioning of central bank digital currencies at the international level.

“China is making a hidden march. We are talking about large investments in the digital yuan, which are made both openly and secretly. China is starting to make a real impact on the tech and digital industries. We have to decide how to react to all of this. ”said Fleming.

Recall that in July, US senators expressed similar concerns and demanded that the US Olympic Committee should ban the use of the digital yuan by US players at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Authorities in Bucheon, South Korea, will test a Blockchain-based facial recognition system to track the movement of people infected with the coronavirus. The project will be launched in January 2022, writes Reuters.

The nationally sponsored task in Bucheon, one of the country’s most densely populated cities on the outskirts of Seoul, according to the plan, the system will use artificial intelligence algorithms and facial recognition technology to analyze videos collected by more than 10,820 CCTV cameras. The program can also track the movements of an infected person, his contacts, and the use of a mask.

According to a Bucheon administration, the system will reduce the burden on tracking teams in a city of more than 800,000 people. The program can simultaneously track up to ten people and reduce the search time from one hour to 5-10 minutes.

“It sometimes takes hours to analyze a single CCTV footage. Using visual recognition technology will enable that analysis in an instant,” said Mayor Chan Deogcheon during the bidding process for funding the project.

The Ministry of Science and Information Technology said that the department currently has no plans to expand the system to the national level. The city received 1.6 billion won ($1.36 million) from the Ministry of Science and Information Technology for the deployment of the system. Also, the Bucheon government has allocated 500 million won ($422,000) from the local budget.

Some South Korean lawmakers are concerned that the government will retain and continue to use such data after the pandemic.

“The government’s plan to become a Big Brother on the pretext of COVID is a neo-totalitarian idea, It is absolutely wrong to monitor and control the public via CCTV using taxpayers’ money and without the consent from the public,” said Park Dae Chul, an opposition parliamentary deputy in the lower house of parliament.

The Bucheon administrators told that there are no privacy problems because the system puts a mosaic over the faces of anyone who is not a subject.

In October, the Ukrainian authorities announced their intention to use cameras with a mask recognition function in the largest shopping centers in the country.

In July, authorities in the Chinese city of Ruili linked facial recognition technology with citizens’ personal health codes to combat the spread of coronavirus infection.

Hackers attacked the personal Twitter account of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On his behalf, they wrote that Bitcoin is now the official currency of India. The hacked account also said that India bought 500 BTC and plans to distribute them to their citizens.

Bitcoin scammers declare the cryptocurrency as India's legal tender. pic.twitter.com/uTe1R7XUWZ

— Priya (@supesuonna) December 11, 2021

The cybercriminals also attached a link to a fraudulent site, so that Indian residents can get their share of bitcoin. However, at the time of writing, the fake tweet has been deleted and PM Modi Twitter account is restored.

The Twitter handle of PM @narendramodi was very briefly compromised. The matter was escalated to Twitter and the account has been immediately secured.

In the brief period that the account was compromised, any Tweet shared must be ignored.

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) December 11, 2021

Recall that in September 2020, the Prime Minister of India’s Twitter account was hacked for the first time. At that time an unknown person posted a fake call to transfer funds in crypto to his account.