We've heard for months now from technology security experts about the strong likelihood the private server used by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to conduct official government business and to host classified information was hacked by foreign governments. Now we have confirmation hack attacks did in fact occur. From CBS News:
Hillary Rodham Clinton's private email server, which stored some 55,000 pages of emails from her time as secretary of state, was the subject of attempted cyberattacks originating in China, South Korea and Germany after she left office in early 2013, according to a congressional document obtained by The Associated Press.
While the attempts were apparently blocked by a "threat monitoring" product that Clinton's employees connected to her network in October 2013, there was a period of more than three months from June to October 2013 when that protection had not been installed, according to a letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. That means her server was possibly vulnerable to cyberattacks during that time.
Not surprisingly, Team Clinton is responding to hacking revelations with accusations of partisanship and is trying to discredit Republican Senators questioning the security vulnerability of Clinton's private server.
A spokesman for the Clinton campaign did not answer detailed questions from The Associated Press about the cyber intrusions. Instead, spokesman Brian Fallon attacked Johnson by linking him to the House Benghazi committee inquiry, which the campaign dismissed in a recent media ad as politically motivated.
"Ron Johnson is ripping a page from the House Benghazi Committee's playbook and mounting his own, taxpayer-funded sham of an investigation with the sole purpose of attacking Hillary Clinton politically," campaign spokesman Fallon said by email. "The Justice Department is already conducting a review concerning the security of her server equipment, and Ron Johnson has no business interfering with it for his own partisan ends."
At this point, 400 pieces of documentation found on Clinton's private server have been deemed classified. In addition, at least four documents found on her server are classified as top secret. Keep in mind Clinton deleted at least 55,000 emails she deemed "personal" before her departure from the State Department.
Yesterday, the FBI reportedly seized four additional computers from the State Department as their criminal investigation of Clinton's private email server use continues. Further, new information shows Clinton may have instructed subordinates to start deleting information two years ago as investigations about her email practices were ramping up and as FOIA requests for her emails started to roll in.
Clinton is scheduled to testify October 22 on Capitol Hill.
