After all the talk of terrorism and border control, was digital espionage Donald’s real Trump-card?

The story reads like something out of a Bond movie – Espionage, masterminds manipulating world events from the shadows, Cold War-era distrust of Russia, and of course, the use of cutting edge technology in a dangerous game of international one-upmanship. But the rabbit hole may run much deeper than originally thought, and the alleged kidnapping of the 2016 US Presidential Elections by Russia has Democratic Party members calling it “an act of war”.

This is to say that the hacking of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails, seemingly by two Russian intelligence agencies (codenamed Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear), may only be the tip of the iceberg in a tale that could be more significant than Watergate.

So, who are the players, and what are the claims?

WikiLeaks and Julian Assange

Julian Assange “allegedly” hacked the NASA network as an idealistic teenager, and with a credential like that, the formation of WikiLeaks was inevitable. Famously, the site saw the leaking of almost half a million classified documents by a concerned army private, Chelsea Manning – who was given 35 year prison sentence for her efforts. These so-called “Iraq War Logs” included the absolutely horrifying video of a 2007 Baghdad airstrike (shown below). The documents released have also been directly linked to the Arab Spring.

It was no surprise, then, that the leaked emails retrieved by the hackers in 2016 were posted on this government-defying website.

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton has claimed that the leaking of the emails to WikiLeaks was part of an effort to diminish her chances of being elected the 45^th president. Clinton argued that the Russian President held her in contempt for criticism of the 2011 election, and responsible for the 2011-13 Russian protests (Clinton had called the elections “rigged”). Trump, by contrast, has praised Putin as a “strong” and “smart” leader.

The Trump-Putin Dossier, Big Oil and Russian Sanctions

This is where the issue gets especially sticky. A former MI6 agent prepared a dossier implicating Trump and his various aides in a conspiracy that entailed an exchange of 19 percent of Russian oil monopoly, Rosneft, for a lifting of all US sanctions against Russia. Suspiciously, a Trump campaign representative was in Moscow when Putin announced that 19.5% of Rosneft had been sold.

Additionally, Russia has increased its military presence in the Middle East, especially on the Egyptian border with Libya. Russia’s preference for Trump may also be based on the idea that he will be softer on Russia’s increased military imperialism.

Ultimately, if Trump was aware of the hack, it would constitute treason under US law.

Whether the dossier’s claims prove to be true or not, at this point there can be no doubt that hacking has now changed the course of history – several times over. Controlling information, it appears, is the true currency and game-changer in the modern political world.

Do you find the world of information, hacking and cyberspace as fascinating as it is unpredictable? Then check out the following offerings from Showmax.

We Steal Secrets

Running at just over two hours, this riveting documentary will keep you glued to your seat. It explores, in depth, how WikiLeaks became one of the most influential web-based organisations in the world – and how it slowly compromised the sanity of its founder, Julian Assange. Watch now >>

Mr Robot

This highly-original award winning series follows Elliot, a talented but alienated programmer by day, and ideal-driven hacker by night. But, things may not be as they seem… Watch now >>

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With an IQ of 197, Walter O’Brien is a computer genius who hacked NASA at the age of 11 (sound familiar?), and as an adult, puts together a team of experts perfectly suited to prevent crimes that official intelligence agencies can’t. Watch now >>

The Fence

Highly relevant, this masterpiece by documentary film maker, Rory Kennedy, unearths the real facts about the US-Mexico border. Watch now >>

Manhunt

Given the turmoil in the Middle East starting after 9/11, Manhunt still remains an important and informing documentary that chronicles the two-decade search for Osama bin Laden. Watch now >>

Silicon Valley

Tired of all the politics? This extremely funny series takes a light hearted look at the world of technology, following the ups and downs of a tech start-up in the world famous Silicon Valley. Watch now >>