Sheldon Adelson is not an easy man to like, let alone defend. (His attacks upon the First Amendment have seen to that.) But, upon further reflection, the Feb. 11 assault on his corporate Web sites causes one to reluctantly take sides with a very truculent individual. The cyber-attacks on Las Vegas Sands‘ various Web sites convey dangerous undertones that have nothing to do with Adelson’s current bete noire, Internet gambling. The site for Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was hijacked, several others were rendered inoperative and employee data was pilfered in plain view. In a single blow, one of the biggest companies in gaming had been brought to its knees by an anonymous hacker.
This cyber-rape of the Sands workforce would be sufficiently deplorable even without several other aspects of the attack, which represents “blowback” from Adelson’s calls for a unilateral nuclear attack on Iran. The incident carried sufficient gravity to draw the interest of the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the FBI. (And yes, we all probably had a moment or two when we thought Adelson had pranked himself in order to push his anti-Internet-gambling agenda.) This is as it should be. The sight of Sands’ three U.S. casinos and Sands Expo Center represented as flaming pyres raises the chilling specter of terrorist threats.
Also, Adelson is Jewish and proudly so, Israel‘s future being his cause of preference. There is no shortage of anti-Semitism in what could laughably called “public discourse,” where Las Vegas Review-Journal readers refer to Adelson as “human garbage” and make snide allusions to his faith. Set against that context, what happened yesterday could be interpreted as a cybernetic Kristallnacht, with Adelson’s Web sites standing in for broken windows. Those taking responsibility for the assault call themselves “Anti WMD Team” but I hold their motives under suspicion.
Excellent post. Thank you for writing it.
Religious beliefs are not sancrosect. But, last I checked, a steadfast support of hawkish defense policies is a political belief and not a religious one.
Hacking a web site, however, is illegal. I would stick to that and not read too deeply into the motivations. I’m sorry to be so harsh but shielding Adelson’s posturing behind his faith only turns off people who don’t believe they should be connected. He should be able to be criticized for what he says (though not in the manner of this hack) without his religion being in the discussion.