Communications security

A glossary of technical terms in the FBI announcement on Clinton’s email server

FBI Director James Comey's explanation of the agency's investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server as secretary of state was direct and articulate. Over the course of 10 minutes or so, Comey outlined precisely what the agency looked for and what it found. In doing so, however, he also used a number of precise terms that, to a layperson, might not be immediately clear.

To that end, we explain some of the terms that may not be obvious in their meaning, or for which a bit more detail might be useful.

Archiving

Comey said: "...there was no archiving at all of her emails"
What it means: Many email systems have built-in systems for ensuring that email can be stored over a long period of time. Gmail, as you may be aware, has an archiving tool, which it describes as "moving messages into a filing cabinet instead of putting them in the trash can...