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State Dept. IT Staff Told To Keep Quiet About Clinton's Server (computerworld.com)

dcblogs writes this report from Computerworld: Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's decision to use a private email server ran afoul of the government's IT security and record retention requirements, according to a report by the department's inspector general released today. This use of a private email server did not go unnoticed within the Department of State's IT department. Two IT staff members who raised concerns about Clinton's use of a private server were told not to speak of it. Clinton was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013 and during that period she used a private email server in her New York home. This report by the Department of State's Inspector General about Clinton's use of a private server makes clear that rules and regulations were not followed. It says that Clinton would not have received approval for this server had she sought it. According to the current CIO, the report said, "Secretary Clinton had an obligation to discuss using her personal email account to conduct official business with their offices, who in turn would have attempted to provide her with approved and secured means that met her business needs." However, the report notes, according to these officials, The Bureau of Diplomatic Security and IRM (Bureau of Information Resource Management) "did not -- and would not -- approve her exclusive reliance on a personal email account to conduct Department business, because of the restrictions in the FAM [Foreign Affairs Manual] and the security risks in doing so."

45 of 371 comments (clear)

  1. top security by Moblaster · · Score: 5, Funny

    This was a clear example of security through obscurity. The server was behind a NAT protected by a Huawei router. What could go wrong?

    1. Re:top security by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Don't worry, we've been assured that there's no evidence the server was hacked by the guy who said he hacked it.

      The fact that we don't have any logs from the server to show that is, of course, completely immaterial.

      After all, it's best practice to simply never log anything, so that there will never be any evidence that you were compromised.

    2. Re:top security by Lumpy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Those IBM System/1 are far more reliable than any crap that can be purchased today. Plus I bet they are radiation hardened.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    3. Re:top security by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 4, Insightful

      and, those old ibm machines will never run ruby or php or visual basic.

      you know, lets keep them around a bit longer, ok?

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    4. Re:top security by MillionthMonkey · · Score: 4, Funny

      Sounds pretty secure to me. Show an 8 inch floppy disk to an evil hacker in Eastern Europe- he'll think it's part of a swivel chair!

    5. Re:top security by harrkev · · Score: 4, Insightful

      And while conservative fucktards all over the US get their panties in a knot over this nonsense, look what they ignore

      Yeah, conservative "fucktards" worry about things more important. How is an obsolete non-networked computer a security hole? Even if an attacker managed to steal one of these floppies, how would he read it? When was the last time that you saw an 8" floppy drive?

      Obsolete? Yes. Security hole? No.

      You want Clinton in charge of our nuclear launch codes?

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
    6. Re: top security by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 3, Funny

      Oh don't worry, Hillary will just email them to a more responsible person.

    7. Re:top security by jvanber · · Score: 4, Funny

      If Windows 10 gave massages, I'd be running it now.

    8. Re:top security by jcr · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What if I told you that Hillary's thousands of felonies aren't excused by citing examples of other government fuck-ups?

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    9. Re:top security by DRMShill · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I have to say the way the news covers this seems a little odd. They phrase it as though this is a problem because I guess hackers could break into this and steal government secrets. It seems to me that the greater concern is that by hiding and then destroying government records it makes her that much more unaccountable to the people.

    10. Re:top security by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You want Trump in charge of our nuclear launch codes?

      FTFY - Oh, hell no!

    11. Re:top security by khandom08 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I have to say the way the news covers this seems a little odd. They phrase it as though this is a problem because I guess hackers could break into this and steal government secrets. It seems to me that the greater concern is that by hiding and then destroying government records it makes her that much more unaccountable to the people.

      ^^^ A thousand times this. And I was a Hillary supporter until the private server news broke. I am astounded how everyone (even Bernie) discounted its importance. While I agree that there have been many attempts by the republicans to tarnish her image, this is not one of them. This is a major fuckup that should have immediately disqualified her from running.

  2. Litmus test / Logic test by s.petry · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If nothing on Hillary's server was classified it should be released without redaction for full review and inspection by any party. That has not happened, and it won't happen. FOI requests regarding information on her server are denied almost as soon as they are filed.

    There is no "truth" left in Government. The only option they have is to silence critics. Oh, and more circuses.

    --

    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    1. Re:Litmus test / Logic test by DaHat · · Score: 4, Informative

      is quite unbelievable that Hill was not trained on this practice since she was an originator of restricted information.

      She was, once.

      Somehow she went without retraining/reminding for the final 3 years of her tenure.

    2. Re:Litmus test / Logic test by cold+fjord · · Score: 5, Informative

      If nothing on Hillary's server was classified it should be released without redaction for full review and inspection by any party. That has not happened, and it won't happen. FOI requests regarding information on her server are denied almost as soon as they are filed.

      You aren't giving credit where credit is due. Judicial Watch has a lawsuit pursuing information along these lines, and is making progress. (They accept donations in their fight against corruption.)

      In fact you can thank them for the progress being made:

      Judicial Watch Statement on State Department OIG Report on Hillary Clinton’s Email Practices

      It was Judicial Watch’s litigation that almost certainly forced the State Department to publicly disclose Hillary Clinton’s secret email account that is now the subject of a scathing Inspector General Report. A statement by the State Department in a February 2, 2015, status report in response to a Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit was the first notice to the public and the court that State had failed to thoroughly search all of Clinton’s email records: “[The State Department] has discovered that additional searches for documents potentially responsive to the FOIA must be conducted.” That statement was the first acknowledgement of Clinton’s secret email. And now, nearly a year and a half later, the State Department’s own Inspector General is confirming the gravity of Clinton’s end run around the law. Judicial Watch already uncovered much of the information cited in this report. But the OIG report will be helpful in upcoming questioning of witnesses about the Clinton email matter.

      Judicial Watch Begins Discovery in Hillary Clinton Email Matter

      More on the Clinton email scandal at Judicial Watch.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    3. Re:Litmus test / Logic test by rahvin112 · · Score: 3, Informative

      The government routinely reverse classifies anything, particularly anything that will embarass anyone in a prominent government position or in an elected office. This is SOP.

    4. Re:Litmus test / Logic test by Swave+An+deBwoner · · Score: 3, Informative

      "There should be at least a memorandum for the record by the person who administered the oral briefing each year," the former official, who requested anonymity, told TheDCNF late Thursday.

      Ordinarily, he said, a senior State Department official "should have put something in the record." He emphasized that yearly oral security briefings for the Secretary of State were common while he was in the department.

      Well, the real question IMHO is "maybe oral briefing isn't really briefing", you know?

  3. Silly Rabbit.... by DidgetMaster · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Rules and laws are for little people. Not for anyone named Clinton.

    1. Re:Silly Rabbit.... by DaHat · · Score: 5, Informative

      As i recall Palin did the same thing.

      And yet despite the release of all of Palin's emails, I don't recall a single one being redacted for containing classified information which had been unlawfully stored in an unapproved location.

      Nice try at deflection, best try to find a more relevant example to try to excuse bad behavior with.

  4. Re:And they knew it was hacked since at least 2011 by Kobun · · Score: 5, Insightful

    One of the many things that points to how "Rules-for-thee, Not-for-me" this still is:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

    Specifically: "In recent media interviews, Lazar claimed he had easily hacked into Clinton’s controversial private email server. But the Justice Department statement did not confirm this claim, and a law enforcement official said investigators did not find evidence to support the claim."

    They're trying to pass this off as nothing bad happened, so it's no big deal. Except she wiped the server before turning it over - OF COURSE they aren't going to find evidence of hacking now, after the evidence has been destroyed.

  5. HRC's judgement sucks by Snotnose · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Never mind 30 years of scandals, this email server thing shows exactly how she thinks. The law only applies to the little people, not her. What she did may have been marginally legal, but if you or I had done this we'd be sitting in jail.

    1. Re:HRC's judgement sucks by Oloryn · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This idea from a Clinton who could not handle having two "high-tech" phones?

      In the midst of all the back-and-forth on the particular brou-ha-ha, this is the thing that's been deciding for me. By her own admission, she prioritized her own convenience over the law and the security of the nation. That's not the kind of person I want in control of the 'football'.

  6. This article has more highlights from the report by Optic7 · · Score: 5, Informative
  7. Re:And they knew it was hacked since at least 2011 by DaHat · · Score: 3, Informative

    It has been reported that the FBI was able to recover the deleted emails... and presumably they recovered more than just the giant binary file which contained the email store, so a more in-depth look at if the server had ever been compromised is probably possible, but we aren't going to know for sure until the FBI talks a bit more publicly.

  8. And more analysis of this report and its impact by Optic7 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Why Clintonâ(TM)s email problems are here to stay

    Sorry for the repeated politico.com links. No affiliation, but I've reading my political news there lately. If you want to preserve your sanity, don't read the comments at that site.

  9. Laws are only for the little people silly! by Brian_Ellenberger · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The depressing part of all of this is that it is obvious she is guilty, but it really doesn't matter. The politically powerful, whether the Goldman Sachs or the Clintons, will always be able to get away with whatever they want. Meanwhile our prison population is overflowing with "little people" who lack the political connections necessary to be free of the ire of the Federal government. Host an illegal mail server that is easily hacked. No big deal. Actually blow the whistle on Federal crimes and corruption. To prison with you!

    1. Re:Laws are only for the little people silly! by suupaabaka · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It disturbs me that the United States has for-profit prisons, and impose harsh penalties on crimes that would (in many other countreis) be considered quite minor. And from what I understand, other countries are trying to emulate this model?

      Prisons in the US seem to turn idiot kids into hardened criminals. The Scandinavian model of rehabilitation over punishment seems a far better solution.

    2. Re:Laws are only for the little people silly! by rahvin112 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Guilty of what?

      People keep saying that but I've not heard a single person quote a law she appears to be guilty of other than being a bitch. (which isn't against the law). It was stupid, it violated department policy and in my opinion nothing bad came of it, she was technically in charge of state and could set whatever policy she wanted. It would be like accusing the president of releasing classified information when he can at his will classify/unclassify anything he wants and the very act of releasing the information would be official declassification. Sometimes the boss does stupid stuff, but that's one of the advantages of being the boss.

    3. Re:Laws are only for the little people silly! by Straif · · Score: 5, Informative

      She violated several statues concerning the handling of classified email as well as the various document retention statues which apply specifically to any work product for high level government officials. Neither of those sets of laws are department specific and apply to all federal agencies.

      The laws and statues concerning handling of classified materials are especially damning because they don't even require intent to be found guilty. Merely having classified material outside of secured authorized channels is enough to be in violation. The mere existence of her server as well as the thumb drive she gave her lawyer were immediate proof of a violation as soon as the first classified piece of email was found.

      --
      Of course that's just my opinion...... you could be wrong!
    4. Re:Laws are only for the little people silly! by DaHat · · Score: 5, Informative

      How much does being an online pro-Clinton shill pay? Or is your ignorance actually real?

      People keep saying that but I've not heard a single person quote a law she appears to be guilty of other than being a bitch.

      Clearly you aren't paying attention, applicable laws have been cited by many, allow me to educate you. To start, look up 18 U.S. Code 793

      (f) Whoever, being entrusted with or having lawful possession or control of any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, note, or information, relating to the national defense, (1) through gross negligence permits the same to be removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of his trust, or to be lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed, or (2) having knowledge that the same has been illegally removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of its trust, or lost, or stolen, abstracted, or destroyed, and fails to make prompt report of such loss, theft, abstraction, or destruction to his superior officer—

      Given the emails she turned over contained satellite images which should have been labeled as "TOP SECRET//SI//TK//NOFORN", it's pretty clear that would be covered by the above section (as just one example).

      You'll note in the statute above, there is no intent required, only gross negligence, which is a pretty easy bar to meet given her knowingly setting up a server that as SoS would receive classified information from time to time.

      And this aside from the fact the IG says that she didn't turn over all of the emails she was supposed to, not only can she be hit under 793 for the emails being removed from their "proper place of custody", but also for the destruction of them as well, but also for destruction of the emails under FOIA laws.

      she was technically in charge of state and could set whatever policy she wanted.

      No, she can't. She could declassify anything originating from State, but anything coming from another agency she has no authority over.

  10. Re:But everyone else was doing it? by macsimcon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm a total lefty, but Kerry, Albright, Rice, and Powell weren't running their own insecure servers which were hacked at least once that we know of. And none of those Secretaries of State claimed that they had done everything right in setting up such a server, and that it had been approved by the department, which the department subsequently denied.

    Hillary Clinton either lied about this, or she was lied to by her staff. That the government has granted immunity to the staffer who set up the mail server leads me to believe that they've got her cold if she tries to claim she had no idea. I've been in IT for 25 years, and I've always protected myself by making my recommendations or warnings in writing to prevent just this sort of shifting of blame.

    The Salon article today suggested that she just didn't follow State Department procedure, without ever mentioning that the department never sanctioned her server, or that her server had been hacked as a result of poor security. The article implies that other Secretaries did it too, so that makes it acceptable. Just absurd.

  11. Re:And they knew it was hacked since at least 2011 by Kobun · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Slight correction to your post, from the article you linked: "But officials told Bloomberg that the FBI had managed to salvage some of the emails deleted by her staff, raising the prospect that Clinton's correspondence could eventually become public." SOME of the emails - no assurance that it was all of them. Other reports continue to turn up work-related emails in the wild from her server that were never turned over.

  12. Re:But everyone else was doing it? by DaHat · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Just absurd.

    You were reading Salon... that's your first mistake.

  13. Re: US CIO "everyone is doing it" by BoRegardless · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Everyone" was not using their political office to use the subterfuge of giving speeches to foreign government and multi-nationals to enrich themselves personally in their non-profit foundation.

    Most of the press and public are not seeing the huge Clinton Corruption Campaign they conducted using Hillary's private email server. But the DOJ and others are now going through those emails with a fine toothed comb.

    Hillary may not get jail for a personal server, but she may get jail time for selling out the US with "special favors" in her decisions for foreign entitities from which she received "donations" in the form of both speech fees and contributions to the Clinton foundation.

    It is truly mind boggling that she & Bill thought they could get away with this.

  14. Re:Ugh.. by Mike+Van+Pelt · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I think a Trump administration might cause the left to re-think the whole "Every issue great and small should be decided in Washington DC" thing, and seriously support genuine Federalism.

    For possible positives of a Trump administration... that's about all I can think of.

  15. Re:Ugh.. by reboot246 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Hillary is more Fascist than Trump. Fascism and Nazism were considered by nearly everyone on the left to be left wing before WWII. It was only after the massive war crimes that the left deftly relabeled them as right wing, and it apparently stuck. I know that most of you aren't old enough to remember that, but by God you could learn a little history!

  16. Re:That confirms there is no case against Hillary by DaHat · · Score: 4, Informative

    Seriously, how much does being a Clinton shill pay? I'm looking for a side gig.

    No ill intent,

    Intent is not required, only gross negligence.

    zero proof of any damages other than the wasted taxpayer money and time

    Damages are not required, simply allowing the classified info to end up in an unapproved place is.

    Ever stop to read & consider just one of the relevant?

    (f) Whoever, being entrusted with or having lawful possession or control of any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, note, or information, relating to the national defense, (1) through gross negligence permits the same to be removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of his trust, or to be lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed, or (2) having knowledge that the same has been illegally removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of its trust, or lost, or stolen, abstracted, or destroyed, and fails to make prompt report of such loss, theft, abstraction, or destruction to his superior officer—

  17. Re:Ugh.. by Immerman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There's nothing inherently "left" or "right" about fascism, especially not within the US today, where both sides are firmly committed to it's ideals (the control of both industry and government by the same select group)

    More to the point, Hitler isn't regarded as a monster because he was fascist. He's regarded as a monster because he was a democratically elected leader who built a power base on racism and twisted nationalism, and then used that power to commit some of the worst atrocities ever seen in the "civilized" world against his chosen scapegoats.

    THOSE are the parallels I fear with Trump - his understated demonization of Muslims, Mexicans, Chinese, etc. as scapegoats, and the open bigotry and violence he's already inspiring just by running for office.

    --
    --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
  18. Better who? by SuperKendall · · Score: 5, Informative

    Not only do we know Hillary has broken federal laws, Hillary has also started at least one war entirely on her own (Libya), and frankly in what should matter to at least Slashdot people is directly responsible for the death of an IT worker who just happened to be at the U.S. embassy in Libya when it was attacked. But I guess you don't care about him, do you? You just want Hillary to be elected, no matter the costs to the rest of us...

    Meanwhile Trump has broken no federal laws, and has never started a war of any kind, and actually knows how to use things like Twitter. Do you want an imbecile technophobe who cannot even drive as president, or someone who actually knows what computers are and uses them?

    Obviously if Sanders was running he would be the best choice but Queen Hillary is not going to let that happen, now is she? Her ability to block the will of the DNC primary voters is to you I am sure just another sign of how much she should be president, because female!

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  19. Re:Ugh.. by Alaska+Jack · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Respectfully, Fascism is a *collectivist* ideology. It has far more in common with communism, socialism, and progressivism than it does with a fundamentally individualist ideology like true "classical" liberalism.

    I always suggest that people who try to deny this watch Triumph of the Will. It helps explain how the Nazis *saw themselves*. They were absolutely a progressive, collectivist ideology.

  20. Re: And they knew it was hacked since at least 201 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    you think Hillary 'wipe - you mean like with a towel' Clinton

    Is this supposed to be some kind of Trump-inspired misogynist insult?

    What? He's QUOTING HER. A reporter asked her if she wiped the server before allowing the FBI to see it. And she said, "What, like with a towel?"

    I know, you already know that, and you're hoping that other people don't so you can pretend otherwise. Just another Shillary, trying to distract from her own words.

  21. Re:Preservation rule question by tranquilidad · · Score: 3, Informative

    Here's the National Archives transfer requirements, from 2002, for e-mail messages with attachments:

    The practical issue is that an individual's emails must be archived in such a way that they can be organized and searched as a "body of records."

    The example given for labeling a body of records is, "the e-mail records of the Deputy Secretary from the past fiscal year."

    If someone want's to know what the Secretary of State said about a certain subject then they need to search the emails the secretary sent. The way Secretary Clinton performed cc/forwarding of emails then all emails of anyone to whom she sent an email would have to be searched.

    It is the responsibility of the head of each Federal agency to make and preserve records including, "effective controls over the creation and over the maintenance and use of records in the conduct of current business." It's hard to see how failing to keep as a record the emails one sent and relying on the addressees to retain those records meets the standard the National Archives has set.

    Secretary Clinton said she didn't want anyone to be able to search or examine her personal emails. The system she deployed made it so no one could search her official emails either.

  22. Re:That confirms there is no case against Hillary by DaHat · · Score: 5, Insightful

    God I love left wing projection, it must be nice being able to blame all of your problems on the other side without a moment of self reflection or awareness.

    The usual right wing lies

    A lie requires me to know that what I am saying is false... care to support that claim?

    No? You lament a lack of facts from me (despite me highlighting just one law she can be convicted under)... but offer nothing yourself... this is my shocked face: :|

    no proof of course

    If you bothered to pay attention to the available facts and use your brain (I'm sure you have one, it's just atrophied a bit from lack of use), allow me to educate you:

    1) True or false: Hillary is known to have had at least one spy satellite photo on her server which should have been labeled "TOP SECRET//SI//TK//NOFORN", a image which did not originate with the State Department so the original classification would apply.

    2) True or false: Hillary's private email server was authorized by the State Department or another federal agency to store classified information.

    3) True or false: Hillary is known to have been briefed on her requirements to properly handle classified information and signed a document confirming her acceptance of policies, including criminal penalties for violations.

    Answer Key:
    1) True: http://www.thedailybeast.com/a...
    2) False: https://www.washingtonpost.com...
    3) True: http://freebeacon.com/politics...

    Given the law I cited above doesn't require 'malice' or 'intent', but simply 'gross negligence', it's not at all a stretch to suggest that Hillary was negligent with the setting up of her server that any reasonable person would expect would see classified information traverse it... and given the fact the server was not a 'proper place of custody'... per instance of classified information on her server, she could be looking at a penalty of "Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both."

    How much does being a Hillary shill pay? I'm looking for a side job, and unlike you morons, I actually have a grasp of facts.

  23. New titles by johanw · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So instead of the barons, dukes and earls from Europe the US has Clintons, Bush and Kennedy's. I get it.

  24. Re:Ugh.. by orzetto · · Score: 3

    I always suggest that people who try to deny this watch Triumph of the Will. It helps explain how the Nazis *saw themselves*.

    No, no, no. You make a propaganda movie to influence how others see you. The Triumph of the Will is how the Nazis wanted German to see them, and indeed the word "socialist" was quite popular at that time in history, which is why they hijacked it in "National Socialist".

    Of course, what they did had nothing of the "socialist" part. They were heavily funded by the wealthy industrialist class (Krupp is a name among a hundred others), they were against abortion and for high child-bearing rates, were fond of guns and trained children with toy guns from an early age, stressed competition and survival of the strongest, had good relations with high clergy, including the Vatican, to the point that they helped hiding many Nazi war criminals after WW2.

    Then of course there is the issue of "scientific" racism and the idea of master race, persecuting political enemies (guess what, almost all in the left side of politics), invasion of the Soviet Union, persecution of Jews (an age-old right-wing conspiracy theory used to provide the masses with an easy scapegoat).

    I get what you are doing, trying to pull off the Goebbelsian Big Lie by associating the Nazis to your political opponents, no matter how historically groundless and ridiculous the association is. Maybe you believe it yourself. I would suggest you read more about the Nazis, you might end up liking them a lot.

    --
    Victims of 9/11: <3000. Traffic in the US: >30,000/y