The truth about email at the State Department
.......there is one unspoken fact about the Clinton email saga that rarely gets mentioned because it risks being politically incorrect to say; namely that anyone who knows anything about the State Department knows that the infrastructure of its information technology, well, stinks. Better put, it is all but inoperable.
From confounding travel systems (the much hated “E2”), to the blocking of basic productivity software used around the world in everyday business such as Skype, Asana, and Sales Force, to simple Web and even WiFi use, it is virtually impossible to work on a daily basis using the outmoded IT systems at State. When it comes to sending and receiving emails, the extraordinarily user-unfriendly unclassified and classified system is simply impossible to work with in anything approaching a timely fashion, particularly given the volume of incoming material and the time constraints of everyday life in the Department. Between the seemingly infinite number of passwords required – all of which must be changed at least every 90 days, a process that stops you dead in your tracks no matter what you may be working on – and rules governing what can and cannot be seen, many State Department staffers find it frustrating to work.
Given that the IT infrastructure of the Department is so cumbersome as to make it unusable, it should come as no surprise that everyone -- even the Secretary of State – seeks “workarounds.” People who work in what is affectionately known as “Foggy Bottom” look for a not-foggy spot, outside the official building, from which they can better access the Internet even if that means teleworking to access the Web remotely from home.
Yes, security matters. Security surrounding e-traffic in national security professions is vitally important. We see enough hacking and trolling to know that our most sensitive information must be protected from those who might seek to harm us or interfere with our democratic process. But not being able to use time, productively, while serving your country is also dangerous. Too much bureaucracy can stifle both creativity and productivity.
None of this excuses breaking the official rules about using your own server. But this should be a learning moment to highlight a system that is broken—both the classification system and the IT systems.
Way More:
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/technology/296497-the-truth-about-email-at-the-state-department
