Washington: Efforts by former secretary of state Hillary Clinton to move on from her email controversy hit a major setback on Wednesday as investigation finds disregard for department guidelines.
An internal audit found that Hillary Clinton, who was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, disregarded State Department cybersecurity guidelines by using a private email account and server.
The 78-page report by the inspector general of the state department singled out several previously unknown breaches by Clinton while she was secretary of state, including the use of mobile devices to conduct official business without checking whether they posed a security risk.
It stated that Clinton ignored clear directives and that she never sought approval to conduct government business over private email and never demonstrated the server or the Blackberry she used while in office.
Twice in 2010, information management staff at the State Department raised concerns that Clinton's email practices failed to meet federal records-keeping requirements. The staff's director responded that Clinton's personal email system had been reviewed and approved by legal staff, and that the matter was not to be discussed any further.
The audit found no evidence of a legal staff review or approval. It said any such request would have been denied by senior information officers because of security risks.
The inspector general's inquiry was prompted by revelations of Clinton's email use, a subject that has dogged her presidential campaign.
Earlier this month, Clinton, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, stressed that she was happy to "talk to anybody, anytime" about the matter and would encourage her staff to do the same.
The review encompassed the email and information practices of the past five secretaries of state, finding them slow to recognize and to manage effectively the legal requirements and cybersecurity risks associated with electronic data communications, particularly as those risks pertain to its most senior leadership.
But the failings of Clinton, who was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, were singled out as more serious.
"By Secretary Clinton's tenure, the department's guidance was considerably more detailed and more sophisticated," the report concluded. "Secretary Clinton's cybersecurity practices accordingly must be evaluated in light of these more comprehensive directives."
The State Department has released more than 52,000 pages of Clinton's work-related emails, including some that have since been classified. Clinton has withheld thousands of additional emails, saying they were personal.
With AP Inputs
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