Tag: Passports

South Korean prosecutors apply to revoke Do Kwon and other Terra employees’ passports

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According to local news outlet gynews.kr, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office’s Joint Financial Securities Crime Investigation Team says it will be contacting the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to nullify the passports of Terra Luna co-founder Do Kwon and five other project developers. Prosecutors also plan to contact Interpol and escalate the South Korean arrest warrant issued the day prior into an international arrest warrant.  All Terra Luna members named in the warrant reside in Singapore, a country that does not have an extradition treaty with South Korea. Targeted…

South Korea to Introduce Blockchain-Powered COVID-19 “Vaccine Passports”

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In order to revive cross-border travel and keep infection risks under control, the South Korean government seeks to issue blockchain-enabled COVID-19 “vaccine passports” to immunized citizens.  Rolling out a blockchain-based application The South Korean administration plans to issue a digital certification system powered by blockchain technology to verify an individual’s coronavirus vaccination status using a smartphone application from this month.  According to Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun: “The introduction of a vaccine passport or ‘Green Pass’ will only allow those who have been vaccinated to experience the recovery to their…

South Korea will use blockchain to prevent counterfeit vaccine passports

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South Korea, which has begun its COVID-19 vaccine rollout for residents over 75 years of age, has revealed plans to use blockchain technology to certify forthcoming vaccine passports for immunized citizens.  According to Reuters, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun told a government meeting that a new mobile app will be used to manage digital proofs of vaccination, and is expected to launch later in April. Blockchain technology will be used to ensure that citizens are not able to forge evidence of having ostensibly received a jab.  “The introduction of a vaccine…

South Korea to launch blockchain-based vaccine passports

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South Korea will introduce blockchain-powered vaccine passports via a smartphone app later this month, the country’s prime minister said Thursday. South Korea is joining a number of other nations in introducing vaccine certificates that enable cross-border travel while mitigating the risk of infections. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun suggested there could be substantial benefits for citizens at home too: “The introduction of a vaccine passport or ‘Green Pass’ will only allow those who have been vaccinated to experience the recovery to their daily lives,” he said during a daily inter-agency pandemic…

NY Governor Cuomo launches blockchain-powered vaccination passports

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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the launch of the city’s blockchain-powered “Excelsior Pass” vaccination passport on March 26. The passport is issued through a free and voluntary platform that verifies Covid-19 vaccinations or negative test results via a QR code for smartphone scanning or printing. The Excelsior Pass is intended to assist the process of reopening businesses and public venues across New York. The vaccination passport is built on IBM’s blockchain-powered Digital Health Pass, which enables a user’s identity, vaccination history, and test results to be verified and securely…

Blockchain-based COVID-19 passports to begin trials in Q1

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The International Air Transport Association will soon roll out blockchain-based passports that digitally store an individual’s health information — specifically, their COVID-19 testing and vaccination status. In a move which IATA says has the potential to reopen international and loosen current global quarantine restrictions, a “health” passport will be stored in a user’s smartphone in the form of an app, with the first real-world testing expected to take place as soon as February. Known as the IATA Travel Pass and described as a way to give travelers complete control over…

We don’t need immunity passports, we need verifiable credentials

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As the first vaccines against COVID-19 roll out, governments and institutions across the world are scrambling to figure out how to provide proof that someone has been vaccinated. Paper certificates, PDFs, wristbands and mobile apps have all been suggested — and the former director of the Centers for Disease Control, Tom Frieden, and international human rights attorney Aaron Schwid urged the adoption of digital “immunity passports” as a way to reopen the world. In theory, their idea is great. In practice, it’s terrible. Or, as the Daily Beast put it:…

Blockchain-Based Immunity Passports Don’t End Privacy Issue

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Existing decentralized digital identity standards are vulnerable to compromise and do not have privacy at their core: This is the central argument posed by a new paper presented by Harry Halpin, a visiting professor at research university KU Leuven, at the Mozilla-hosted Security Standardization Research Conference (SSR20). Proposals for vaccine or immunity passports, which would tie a person’s movements to their COVID-19 immunity status, have resurfaced with promising news about vaccines. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced it’s “in the final development phase” of a digital passport app that…

Travelers can now get US passports in as little as 4 weeks with Bitcoin

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A California-based visa and passport processing company announced it would be accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment as the U.S. State Department’s operations are beginning to return to normal. According to a Nov. 6 announcement from passport and visa expeditor Peninsula Visa based in San Jose, the company stated it would be giving customers the option to pay for select passport services using Bitcoin (BTC). Backed by retailer payment facilitator Coinbase Commerce, Peninsula Visa will be offering passport renewals and name changes in addition to applications related to second…