From digital currency to national identity; El Salvador extends citizenship to global bitcoin investors

El Salvador's Congress has approved a migration law granting expedited citizenship to foreigners who make bitcoin "donations" to government social and economic development programmes.

2023 12 21T202340Z 1 LYNXMPEJBK0QW RTROPTP 4 EL SALVADOR BITCOIN 1 Scaled
FILE PHOTO: Congress members from the ruling Nuevas Ideas party celebrate as they approve El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele's license to leave office and dedicate himself to the 2024 re-election campaign during a special session in San Salvador, El Salvador November 30, 2023. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas/File Photo
author profile picture

Qonversations with Agencies

Front of mind

Article Card thumbnail

From West Africa to Latin America: Why the Global South is ground zero for Bots-as-a-Service

With banks, governments and small businesses under fire, Bots-as-a-Service is exposing the Global South’s digital vulnerabilities.

Cybercrime is no longer the domain of elite hackers working behind closed doors. Today, it has become an open marketplace where criminals can simply rent the tools they need. Known as Bots-as-a-Service (BaaS), this trend is hitting the Global South hardest, turning countries in Africa and Latin America into both prime targets and unwilling enablers of global cybercrime.
READ MORE Continue reading From West Africa to Latin America: Why the Global South is ground zero for Bots-as-a-Service
Article Card thumbnail

The Deepfake Dilemma: Can technology and law catch up with AI fakes?

Detection tools are flawed, regulation lags behind, and platforms evade responsibility. Dr Áine MacDermott argues only a mix of smarter tech, stronger laws and human-centred defences can counter the deepfake threat.

A familiar face on a video call. A trusted voice giving instructions. A social media post quoting a senior executive. Increasingly, these may not be real at all. Thanks to artificial intelligence, deepfakes, convincing but fabricated videos, images and audio, are spreading fast, and their consequences are serious. Dr Áine MacDermott, Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security and Digital Forensics at Liverpool John Moores University, warns that organisations and governments must act now.
READ MORE Continue reading The Deepfake Dilemma: Can technology and law catch up with AI fakes?