Hilary Clinton flouted federal IT security rules, audit reveals

US Presidential hopeful Hilary Clinton ignored IT security guidelines set by the State Department when utilising a private server and email account, found an internal audit.

Her staff dismissed concerns over failing to adhere to federal regulations.

The review, from the inspector general, further revealed that failed hacking attempts forced the former secretary of state off email in 2011, although she maintains that the user she utilised was not breached.

Clinton, along with a number of her staff, declined an interview request for the investigation.

The report, over some 78 pages, said that clear directives were ignored by Clinton. She failed to seek permission to carry out government business through a private email account, and also did not show the Blackberry or server she used when in office adhered to minimum requirements for information security.

The review incorporated the information and email practices conducted by the last five secretaries of state. While the overall review was far from favourable, Clinton’s failings were considered to be the most serious.

The report said:

“By Secretary Clinton’s tenure, the department’s guidance was considerably more detailed and more sophisticated. Secretary Clinton’s cyber-security practices accordingly must be evaluated in light of these more comprehensive directives.”

This is a high-profile breach, but it remains true that those breaches afflicted upon businesses on a daily basis should not be ignored. Undoubtedly, there needs to be more of a proactive stance taken by UK SMEs and that starts with creating more cyber security jobs.