The head of the British intelligence and security agency will call on Tuesday the Western countries to act in an emergency to counter Beijing initiatives which seeks to use its technological domination for surveillance purposes.
Le Monde with AFP
He calls this: “A huge threat to all of us”. Jeremy Fleming, Director of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHG), is due to assert, Tuesday, October 11, during a speech to international defense specialists, that the Chinese authorities seek to “enjoy” their technologies, such as their satellite systems and virtual currencies.
m. Fleming, at the head of the intelligence agency since 2017, must call the United Kingdom and its allies to respond in an emergency to these threats, according to a statement from the agency issued on Monday evening.
“A GCHQ, it is our privilege and also our duty to see the pivotal moments where history changes without us realizing it. It seems to look like one of these moments”, Should he say.
“Our advantage in our future technological strategy is based on what we decide to do now as a community. I have confidence that together, we can turn this moment to our advantage”, will emphasize Mr. Fleming.
New digital currency
His intervention takes place at a time when China wants to launch its digital currency, the “digital yuan”, arousing the concern of specialists who believe that authoritarian regimes could use this technology for surveillance and control purposes. Such a currency could “allow China to partially free itself from the kind of international sanctions currently in place against the regime of [President Vladimir] Putin in Russia”, according to Mr. Fleming.
China also finalized, in 2020, Beidou, its satellite navigation system, competitor of American GPS. “Many think that China is acquiring a powerful antisatellite capacity, with the aim of preventing other nations from accessing space in the event of conflict, according to Mr. Fleming. And there has fears that technology can be used to tracker individuals. “