leaks (n.)

E-mails from the Democratic Party, hacked by the Russian government and leaked by Julian Assange, not only gave us John Podesta’s tips for making a creamy risotto, but also helped give Donald Trump the White House.

Globally, this was just one of hundreds of consequential leaks this year. In March, the Philippines Commission on Elections was hacked, and the personal information of 55 million people, including passport numbers and fingerprints, was released on the Internet. The next month, a similar leak occurred in Turkey.

In April, over 30 years of confidential legal documents were stolen from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The information revealed how politicians and businessmen hid their money from the tax man, and sparked scandals in capitals around the world.

Internet activists also targeted the Syrian government of Bashar Assad, leaking sensitive data to undermine its ability to prosecute the civil war. And, in Australia, information on the “at-risk sexual behavior’’ of half a million people was stolen from the Red Cross. The examples go on.

Around the world, again and again, it became evident that “private’’ data is increasingly a misnomer, and that leaks are now an essential tool of statecraft, activism, vandalism, and warfare.

— SCOTT GILMORE