Comment by ctdonath

9 years ago

Supposedly she got the server set up because the NSA refused to give a politician who travels frequently a secure smartphone.

Baloney. She was the second most powerful person in the US government. If she couldn't get them to provide modern secure communications, she had the ear of the one who could.

If it was as you say, and truly that systemic a problem, then indeed heads should politically roll - starting from the top, which means her.

Handling national secrets on a cheap generic PC in one's bathroom because a subordinate huge-budget agency won't cooperate is a sign of gross incompetence on many levels. If jail time is what it's going to take to motivate people to get this systemic problem solved, them so be it. The standards are obvious, and ominously violated to a dangerous degree.

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ctdonath

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secabeen  9 years ago

Here are the results from the FOIA request that underlie that statement. The NSA certainly pushed back. https://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judi...

  • mtgx  9 years ago

    I think the NSA wanted to give her a secure Windows Mobile (or whatever it was called back then) phone, which may have been better supported. They also mention security issues with Blackberry, presumably even if they tried to make it "secure" themselves.

    If I remember correctly, they didn't want to allow Obama to use a Blackberry either back then, but he was a big fan of Blackberries and said he couldn't use the much uglier and brick-like alternatives. So I think they eventually compromised for the president. But I don't think they were just going to do it for everyone else, at least not at the time.

eli  9 years ago

Ever work in a really large oraganization and try to demand something from some far-flung other division? Not so easy.

She shouldn't have set up her own server. And the NSA should have been more sensitive to how important mobile email is to a modern diplomat.

  • JonFish85  9 years ago

    "Ever work in a really large oraganization and try to demand something from some far-flung other division? Not so easy."

    As someone reporting directly to the CEO, I bet it's not so hard... And "but it was really hard" isn't exactly a solid excuse for... anything?