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Mike Pence Used His AOL Email For Indiana State Business -- and It Got Hacked (theverge.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Vice President Mike Pence used a personal AOL email account to conduct sensitive state business -- including issues related to homeland security -- as the governor of Indiana, according to a report from The Indianapolis Star. Not only that, but Pence's email account was also compromised last year, the report reveals. Because personal email accounts are not subject to same types of public transparency laws, it's up to the official and his or her transition staff to hand over any sensitive state-related messages for archiving. Emails from a state account are automatically stored on state servers and subject to public records requests. Pence's office claims the contents of his personal AOL account used for state business are in fact in the process of being archived. A larger concern, however, is security. By using a private AOL account to conduct sensitive state matters, Pence could have exposed sensitive state business. In the hacking incident last year, Pence's email account was compromised by a scammer who used it to try and extort money from members of his contact list by claiming Pence and his wife were stranded in the Philippines, The Indianapolis Star reports. This hack didn't appear to have had been designed specifically to breach Pence's office, which made clear that his AOL account could be compromised by relatively benign breaching techniques designed by spammers and low-level hackers. It is not illegal in Indiana to own and use a personal account while in office, nor is it against the law to handle work-related matters from a personal account -- so long as those emails are in some way archived. However, the Star reports that Pence made no efforts to preserve his AOL emails under after he left office and is only just now doing months after public records requests were first made. "Similar to previous governors, during his time as governor of Indiana, Mike Pence maintained a state email account and a personal email account," reads a statement given to the The Indianapolis Star. "As governor, Mr. Pence fully complied with Indiana law regarding email use and retention. Government emails involving his state and personal accounts are being archived by the state consistent with Indiana law, and are being managed according to Indiana's Access to Public Records Act."
Turn on a news channel (or Twitter) to hear Trump rant about how evil and unacceptable email hacks are any second now.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
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The impression I've had about Pence ever since he got picked by Trump is that he's just not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Pence is what every VP since Humphrey was: An assassination insurance. Any assassin planning to shoot the president is supposed to think "Wait! Stop! If I off him, this goofball is gonna take over! Ok, call it of, that's even worse."
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
What did he do wrong?
Seriously, did you not read the headline? He uses AOL. He clearly can't be trusted with important decisions.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Mike (Race Bannon in a $5000 suit) Pence is a Christian Dominionist autocrat who was a complete failure as Governor of Indiana and never would have been re-elected if he ran again.
He is also willing to set aside each and every one of his false "moral values" if he can profit from it personally.
Perfect VP material for President Shit-for-Brains.
Who had Pence going to jail before Trump?
Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
I just love the people who think they've found a massive smoking gun here -- you're far from the first.
Trump is using an unsecured phone to send... tweets. Messages broadcast to the universe.
Just imagine the harm that could befall the nation if one of those were to be intercepted.
You idiot.