Information security

Clinton’s Email Scandal Reveals an Unlikely National Security Threat

People who have never worked in a classified environment might be scratching their heads over the Justice Department’sdecision to close its year-long investigation into then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail system to conduct government business with no prosecutions.

In an unusually detailed statement about the case, FBI Director James Comey revealed that more than 100 e-mails containing classified information were knowingly transmitted through the insecure servers, and that “it is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clinton’s personal email account.” At least seven e-mail chains contained information classified at the highest level, Top Secret/Special Access Program, which is reserved for materials that could be expected “to cause exceptionally grave damage to national security” if disclosed without authorization. These would seem to be facts supporting a prosecution, especially since the Obama administration has been unusually aggressive in charging people for leaks large and small.