The United States is poised to undergo a period of highly disruptive transformation. The incoming administration has promised to make significant changes, including forming a new body, the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE), with the aim of substantially reducing the size of the government.
Many people in our hugely polarised society are unhappy with the upcoming changes. Some will even refuse to “go down without a fight” and attempt to sabotage the shift or the new administration’s prospects for success. How? One popular disruption method is to leak bits and pieces of insider information in order to distract, provoke opposition, and ultimately stall the changes.
While insider leaks can occur at any organisation and at any moment, a controversial move can be a major driver for such threats. We don’t need to look far back for examples of this. After Donald Trump was elected to his first term, someone explicitly got a job as an IRS contractor so that he could leak the tax returns of key leaders, including President Trump. There was also information disclosed concerning a Trump cabinet pick.