February, 19 2013, 03:14pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
China Cyber Report Reflects Tension- and Need to Demilitarize Internet
The New York Times today features a now widely reported lead story titled "Chinese Army Unit Is Seen as Tied to Hacking Against U.S." -- which is based on a new report by the internet security firm Mandiant.
WASHINGTON
The New York Times today features a now widely reported lead story titled "Chinese Army Unit Is Seen as Tied to Hacking Against U.S." -- which is based on a new report by the internet security firm Mandiant.
SASCHA MEINRATH, TIM MAURER, [email], @NewAmericaOTI
Meinrath is vice president of the New America Foundation and director of its Open Technology Institute. He said today: "The alleged Chinese government hacking comes as no surprise to folks who have been following cybersecurity developments. The level of detail reported by the New York Times is the new development, pointing to a marked escalation in the tensions between the U.S. and China. More urgently than ever, we need to address the technical realities and likely outcomes resulting from military activities online.
"This tactic -- hacking is actively pursued by the U.S. and China among others -- needs to cease. Demilitarizing cyberspace must be a core goal for the Obama administration. As a global technological leader and first adopter, the United States is particularly vulnerable to the weaponization of the Internet; it's time for the Obama administration to lead by example. Government hacking -- both for espionage and warfare -- is unacceptable".
Maurer, a cybersecurity analyst with the Open Technology Institute, adds: "Targeting civilian infrastructure is a direct violation of the Geneva Conventions. The International Committee of the Red Cross has pointed out that international humanitarian law also covers cyberwarfare. The global community must affirm that the Geneva Conventions apply in cyberspace much like the Human Rights Council affirmed last year that human rights must be protected online as well as off."
See this article by Matthew Yglesias about Mandiant: "Meet the Company That's Profiting From Chinese Hacking."
A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.
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Echoing recent warnings from economists, business leaders, news reporting, and immigrant rights groups, Democrats on the congressional Joint Economic Committee detailed Thursday how President-elect Donald Trump's planned mass deportations "would deliver a catastrophic blow to the U.S. economy."
"Though the U.S. immigration system remains broken, immigrants are crucial to growing the labor force and supporting economic output," states the new report from JEC Democrats. "Immigrants have helped expand the labor supply, pay nearly $580 billion a year in taxes, possess a spending power of $1.6 trillion a year, and just last year contributed close to $50 billion each in personal income and consumer spending."
There are an estimated 11.7 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, and Trump—who is set to be sworn in next month—has even suggested he would deport children who are American citizens with their parents who are not and attempt to end birthright citizenship.
Citing recent research by the American Immigration Council and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the JEC report warns that depending on how many immigrants are forced out of the country, Trump's deportations could:
- Reduce real gross domestic product (GDP) by as much as 7.4% by 2028;
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Highlighting how mass deportations would harm not only undocumented immigrants but also U.S. citizens, the report explains that construction worker losses would "make housing even harder to build, raising its cost," and "reduce the supply of farmworkers who keep Americans fed as well as the supply of home health aides at a time when more Americans are aging and requiring assistance."
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Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), who chairs the JEC, said Thursday that "as a son of an immigrant, I know how hard immigrants work, how much they believe in this country, and how much they're willing to give back. They are the backbone of our economy and the driving force behind our nation's growth and prosperity."
"Trump's plan to deport millions of immigrants does absolutely nothing to address the core problems driving our broken immigration system," Heinrich stressed. "Instead, all it will do is raise grocery prices, destroy jobs, and shrink the economy. His immigration policy is reckless and would cause irreparable harm to our economy."
Along with laying out the economic toll of Trump's promised deportations, the JEC report makes the case that "providing a pathway to citizenship is good economics. Immigrants are helping meet labor demand while also demonstrating that more legal pathways to working in the United States are needed to meet this demand."
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The JEC report followed a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday that explored how mass deportations would not only devastate the U.S. economy but also harm the armed forces and tear apart American families.
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"The CFPB is cracking down on these excessive junk fees and requiring big banks to come clean about the interest rate they're charging on overdraft loans."
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The Federal Reserve Board exempted banks from Truth in Lending Act protections in 1969, allowing them to charge overdraft fees without disclosing their terms to consumers.
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The new overdraft fee rule follows a $95 million enforcement action against Navy Federal Credit Union for illegal surprise overdraft fees and similar actions against Wells Fargo, Regions Bank, and Atlantic Union.
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