Etiket arşivi: People

Trump Family Members and Biden Aides Among China Hack Targets

Bir Cevap Yazın

Members of former President Donald J. Trump’s family, as well as Biden administration and State Department officials, were among those targeted by the China-linked hackers who were able to break into telecommunications company systems, according to people familiar with the matter.

The sophisticated hacking operation has alarmed national security officials and appears to have targeted a substantial but focused list of people whose communications would be of interest to the Chinese government. The list of known targets is currently fewer than 100 individuals, these people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive ongoing investigation.

So far, the list of targeted phones includes devices used by high-profile people, including Mr. Trump, his son Eric Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner. The list also includes members of Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign staff, as well as diplomatic, government and policy experts who are largely unknown to the general public but would hold significant interest to Chinese officials eager to learn more about internal U.S. policy-making, these people said. It is unclear what, if any, data was taken from those individuals.

In a statement, Eric Trump sought to blame the Biden administration for the hacking of the telecommunications networks, saying, “Does this surprise anyone? Under Kamala and Biden, China has walked all over our country.”

An aide to Mr. Kushner did not respond to an email seeking comment.

The Trump campaign team was notified last week that phones used by Mr. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, were among those targeted through the infiltration of Verizon phone systems. Others targeted by the hackers have been receiving similar notifications from U.S. authorities.

Democrats, including an aide to Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, were also targeted, the people said.

Social Security: Why It Matters for Young People, Not Just Retirees

Bir Cevap Yazın

Paul Unnasch notices the $335 in payroll taxes coming out of his paycheck every month for Social Security, and wishes he could get those dollars back.

“If there was a way to opt out of Social Security, I would,” said Mr. Unnasch, a 27-year-old technical writer who lives in Milwaukee. “I don’t have much trust in it — I know I’ll probably get something out of it, but people are living longer and there’s a huge generation of boomers retiring now.”

An aggressive saver who socks away 20 percent of his pay in retirement accounts, he would prefer to put those Social Security payroll taxes into the stock market or use them to pay down his student loans.

Mr. Unnasch’s take on Social Security isn’t unusual among younger Americans. Research shows that a majority of young people are more pessimistic about the program than their older counterparts are. Gallup polling,for example, shows that just 37 percent of Americans aged 30 to 49 expect to receive Social Security benefits when they retire — compared with 66 percent of people aged 50 or older.

Social Security is not on a course to vanish — but the concerns voiced by young people are understandable.

Last year, the program’s retirement and disability trust funds had reserves of $2.79 trillion, but expenses have been outpacing noninterest revenue since 2010, mainly because of low birthrates that translate into a declining ratio of workers paying into the program and more people drawing benefits. As a result, the trust fund reserves are forecast to be depleted in 2035. At that point, the program would be bringing in enough cash to pay only 83 percent of the benefits promised to current and future beneficiaries, according to the most recent projection of the Social Security trustees. That would be the equivalent of a 17 percent across-the-board cut in benefits.