The Simulation of Scandal: Hack-and-Leak Operations, the Gulf States, and U.S. Politics

Shires, J. (2020)

Article / Letter to editor

Four hack-and-leak operations in U.S. politics between 2016 and 2019, publicly attributed to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, should be seen as the “simulation of scandal”: deliberate attempts to direct moral judgement against their target. Although “hacking” tools enable easy access to secret information, they are a double-edged sword, as their discovery means the scandal becomes about the hack itself, not about the hacked information. There are wider consequences for cyber competition in situations of constraint where both sides are strategic partners, as in the case of the United States and its allies in the Persian Gulf.

• leaks
• scandal
• Gulf states
• cybersecurity

• All authors: Shires, J.
• Date: 2020
• Journal: Texas National Security Review
• Volume: 3
• Issue: 4
• Advanced Publication: Yes
• Link: https://tnsr.org/2020/08/the-simulation-of-scandal-hack-and-leak-operati...