Tavares, FL Jan 6, 2016
If you are interested in the email and file server fiasco implemented by Hillary Clinton, this provides some inside knowledge on State Dept. email practices.
THIS Jan. 31, 2016 article describes how a former Inspector General for the US State Dept., Howard Krongaard, using his knowledge of State Dept. internal internet security, describes how Hillary clearly lied about her email server usage and planned and knew she was violating email security by using her external email server.
Some readers know I was an anti-corruption consultant in the Baghdad embassy in 2004-2006. I had to use three different email and shared file server systems that did not connect. One email and common shared server for the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office, another server for secured email and file server system for the Defense Dept. (since I initially was hired by Dept. of Defense and resided in the Dept. of Justice offices), and the third email system was for the State Dept. communications once Bush W. caved into opponent John Kerry's demands and transferred all reconstruction programs to the State Dept. in late 2004.
I knew the Inspector General quoted in the article, Howard Krongard and spoke to him several times. I probably have pictures of us together somewhere in my picture files from that period. HERE is his wikipedia page. I used to go eat or drinking with some of the State Dept. auditors.
Both the military (Dept of Defense) and State Dept. were paranoid over the security of their systems. To use the State Dept. computers with access to their internal worldwide system, I had to enter passwords in door locks just to get into a room where the terminals were. At the time they used a very secure email system known as Lotus Notes (much more secure than Microsoft email).
The military used a background scanner program to detect outbound emails with Secret or Top Secret documents and actually shut down their Embassy DoD server once when an officer copied or emailed a "Secret" document from their system to another. We all lost many files and emails because our accounts were voided by DoD. Although the State Dept. was paranoid about security, I doubt they had the funding to buy the software used by DoD. State was always underfunded and scrimped on many functions once they took over responsibility for Iraq in 2004.
At the same time, I worked as a civilian contractor in a group of contractors on Iraq reconstruction programs and the military considered them non-confidential. Since there was no American provider of civilian internet connections, and the Iraqi government did not have email, we contractors working on Iraqi anti-corruption programs had to use a local Iraqi internet company to connect to the US for project and personal emails as well as email for the new Iraqi anti-corruption agency we setup (Commission of Public Integrity). Later, a friend in the Embassy setup a $100-million email and internet system for the Iraqi military and government (for non military uses) with all the bells and whistles.
In the Baghdad Embassy, many military or civilian contractors would be there on leave to eat, and would wander the halls to use computers to connect email to home. But they could not use the DoD computers without staff passwords. Some figured how to create USB memory sticks with embedded email programs to boot separately and bypass the security on the computers. It was the wild west with many visitors not having internet access passwords, and trying to bypass security. Since I had a "cubicle" near computers setup for them to use, there was always a line, and some would sit any any vacant computer and try to use it for email. As a former Certified Information Systems auditor and power user, I reported some loopholes in the security, but only as an observer.
So, all three systems were separate, and the State Dept. was paranoid because they didn't like all these "non permanent" civilians accessing their systems, where you could view internal systems worldwide. I once did a search on anti-corruption and found a trove of documents presented by Al Gore at an anti-corruption conference in DC.
So, now if you read Krongaard's story, you can understand how unethical Hillary's use of an external server was in relation to State Dept. security, and it had to be planned.
Also realize, as Krongard says, once he left the State. Dept. IG position, they never filled it while Hillary was there so there was no IG oversight over her actions or IT systems.
Vance Jochim
FiscalRangers.com
