Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Hillary Clinton's tech company employees were worried about an FBI investigation and a possible cover-up


When the Clinton Corporation paying for Hillary Clinton's tech services requested a change in the duration of the backup to Hillary Clinton's E-mail and private server, techs at Platte River Networks expressed concerns about a cover-up because of the FBI investigation


According to a CNN report  ---  "Employees at the company that maintained Hillary Clinton's private email server expressed concern among themselves about the way the former secretary of state's team directed them to manage data backups after the FBI started looking into the arrangements, according to emails obtained by a senator....    In a letter obtained by CNN, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, asks Datto, Inc, the makers of Clinton's server back-up system, for information on how her emails were preserved and protected. The FBI has also sought information from the company, according to sources...."   (See  "Employees at company working with Clinton email server expressed concerns" by Laura Koran and Evan Perez, 10/7/15, CNN [http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/07/politics/hillary-clinton-emails-platte-river-networks/]).

The CNN article by Laura Koran and Evan Perez continued with this:  "....  [Senator] Johnson indicates that a 'Clinton family company,'  Clinton Executive Service Corp., paid for the back-up services, operated through a device called the Datto SIRIS S2000, and that the purchase was made by Platte River Networks when the server was moved from her private residence to a New Jersey-based data center in 2013....   In the letter, Johnson quotes from emails sent by and to employees at Platte River Networks, which indicate there was discussion about how the duration of data backups could be reduced, apparently at the direction of the Clinton Executive Service Corp...."

HERE'S THE MONEY SHOT                                                                                       

The CNN article then quoted an "unnamed" Platte River employee as follows:    "....   Then this past August, a Platte River Networks employee wrote to a coworker that he was, 'Starting to think this whole thing really is covering up some shaddy (sic) s**t.'...    'I just think if we have it in writing that they told us to cut the backups, and that we can go public with our statement saying we have backups since day one, then we were told to trim to 30days (sic), it would make us look a WHOLE LOT better,'  the unnamed employee continued...."

The email from the unnamed Platte River employee was sent shortly after it hit the news that the FBI was doing an investigation into the security of Hillary Clinton's server, and months after it was revealed that Clinton exclusively had used her private E-mail account on her private server to conduct State Department business.  The Platte River employee indicated in his/her E-mail that Clinton's team asked Platter River to change the back-up duration between October and February, presumably of 2014/2015 [NB:  according to the CNN report, those dates aren't explicitly stated in the portion of the E-mail that was included in Senator Johnson's letter].

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

An anonymous employee says something was fishy.
If thats the money shot than I suggest you catch up on your porn.
Pulleeeze

Galewyn Massey said...

UPDATE: THE "MORE E-MAIL PROBLEMS FOR HILLARY CLINTON AS HER TECH CONTRACTORS KEEP EXPRESSING THEMSELVES" EDITION

ONE OF HRC'S I-T CONTRACTORS WARNED THAT E-MAIL SYSTEM WAS INADEQUATELY PROTEDTED AND SUBJECT TO HACKING

"IT POINTS TO A LARGER QUESTION, BEING POSED BY REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS, OF WHETHER [HILLARY] CLINTON, THE DEMOCRATIC FRONT RUNNER, JEOPARDIZED NATIONAL SECURITY BY USING A PRIVATE SYSTEM THAT LACKED TOP-LEVEL SECURITY PROTOCOLS THAT WOULD BE EXPECTED OF A HGH-LEVEL GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL...."
-- WASHINGTON POST


The Washington Post is reporting that --- "A technology subcontractor that has worked on Hillary Rodham Clinton’s e-mail setup expressed concerns over the summer that the system was inadequately protected and vulnerable to hackers, a company official said Wednesday.... But the concerns were rebuffed by the company managing the Clinton account, Platte River Networks, which said it had been instructed by the FBI not to make changes. The FBI has been reviewing the security of the e-mail system.... The subcontractor, Datto, which specializes in backing up data, had not been aware that it was handling Clinton e-mails until media reports in August noted Platte River Networks’ involvement with the controversy surrounding the former secretary of state’s e-mails...." (See "Clinton e-mails were vulnerable to hackers, tech firm warned" by Tom Hamburger & Rosalind S. Helderman, 10/7/15, Washington Post [http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-e-mails-were-vulnerable-to-hackers-tech-firm-warned/2015/10/07/b1fb42e0-6cfe-11e5-b31c-d80d62b53e28_story.html]).

The WaPo article went on to note, ".... The concerns expressed by Datto reflected worry that the system, which was still in use for the Clintons’ personal office in August, could have been vulnerable to hackers who targeted it for its new notoriety amid the swirling controversy.... They also suggested potential security gaps dating back to when the company was first hired, in May 2013, possibly putting at risk material from Clinton’s time as secretary of state that the company believes it might have stored since that time.... And it points to a larger question, being posed by Republican lawmakers, of whether Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, jeopardized national security by using a private system that lacked top-level security protocols that would be expected of a high-level government official...."

Galewyn Massey said...

UPDATE: THE "YET ANOTHER I-T SUBCONTRACTOR HEARD FROM ABOUT HILLARY'S E-MAIL PROBLEMS" EDITON

THE AP REPORTS THAT THERE WERE MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS TO HACK HILLARY CLINTON'S E-MAILS AND SERVER --- THREE WERE DESCRIBED AS BY FOREIGN BASED CYBER-ATTACKERS IN CHINA, SOUTH KOREA AND GERMANY

THESE THREE ATTACKS WERE FOILED BY A "THREAT MONITORING PRODUCT" PROVIDED BY A COMPANY CALLED "SECNAP" --- THAT WAS "CONNECTED" TO HRC'S PRIVATE SERVER --- THERE WAS ALSO A PERIOD FROM JUNE-OCTOBER 2013 THAT SUCH PROTECTION HAD NOT BEEN CONNECTED
<<< FOURTH AND FIFTH HACKING ATTEMPTS WERE ALSO DISCLOSED >>> BUT THOSE WERE NOT DISCUSSED IN ANY WAY


According to a report by CBS News --- "Hillary Rodham Clinton's private email server, which stored some 55,000 pages of emails from her time as secretary of state, was the subject of attempted cyberattacks originating in China, South Korea and Germany after she left office in early 2013, according to a congressional document obtained by The Associated Press.... While the attempts were apparently blocked by a "threat monitoring" product that Clinton's employees connected to her network in October 2013, there was a period of more than three months from June to October 2013 when that protection had not been installed, according to a letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. That means her server was possibly vulnerable to cyberattacks during that time.... Johnson's letter to Victor Nappe, CEO of SECNAP, the company that provided the threat monitoring product, seeks a host of documents relating to the company's work on Clinton's server and the nature of the cyber intrusions detected. Johnson's committee is investigating Clinton's email arrangement...." (See "3 nations tried cyberattacks on Hillary Clinton's private email server: AP" by CBS staff from AP feed, 10/8/15, CBS News[http://www.cbsnews.com/news/3-nations-tried-cyberattacks-on-hillary-clintons-private-email-server-ap/]).

The CBS report further stated, ".... Clinton has not said what, if any, firewall or threat protection was used on her email server before June 2013, including the time she was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013 and the server was kept in her home in the New York City suburbs.... A February 2014 email from SECNAP reported that malicious software based in China "was found running an attack against" Clinton's server. In total, Senate investigators have found records describing three such attempts linked to China, one based in Germany and one originating in South Korea. The attacks occurred in 2013 and 2014. The letter describes four attacks, but investigators have since found records about a fifth attempt, said officials who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly...."

Galewyn Massey said...

UPDATE: THE "BENGHAZI NOOSE IS GETTING TIGHTER AROUND HILLARY'S NECK" EDITION

TREY GOWDY'S LETTER TO DEMOCRAT ELIJAH CIMMINGS INDICATES BENGHAZI COMMITTEE WILL FOCUS ON HOW SIDNEY BLUMENTHAL PARTICPATED IN U.S.-LIBYAN POLICY-MAKING

MANY OF BLUMENTHAL'S E-MAILS WERE ONLY RECENTLY TURNED OVER BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT, WHICH INEXPLICABLY HAD HELD THEM BACK FROM THE BENGHAZI COMMITTEE WHEN HILLARY'S E-MAILS WERE TURNED OVER --- GOWDY SPECIFICALLY CITES THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION AND THE STATE DEPARTMENT FOR A CLEAR DECISION TO WITHHOLD INFORMATION FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND THE BENGHAZI COMMITTEE

The International Business Times is reporting that --- "Sidney Blumenthal was a principal character in Hillary Clinton's Libyan policy discussions, even though he was neither an official adviser nor an impartial party, according to the Republican chairman of the House committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack. In a letter, Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina claims there was a financial stake for Blumenthal in Libya as he pressed for Clinton to intervene.... 'Blumenthal was not merely acting as a steward of information to Secretary Clinton but was acting as her de facto political adviser.... While Blumenthal, an old friend of Clinton's, admittedly knew little about Libya and had not ever been to Libya, Clinton seemingly read every one of his emails on the topic that began appearing out of nowhere in February 2011.'... Gowdy writes that Blumenthal maintained a frequent dialogue with Clinton about U.S. policy in the country -- nearly half of the emails Clinton received regarding Benghazi and Libya prior to the attacks involved him. Blumenthal, who served as a former White House aide to her husband, was not employed in any official capacity at the time of their correspondence...." ( See "Benghazi: Hillary Clinton Adviser Sidney Blumenthal Had Financial Stake In US Libya Policy, Says GOP Lawmaker" by Jackie Salo, 10/8/15, International Financial Times [http://www.ibtimes.com/benghazi-hillary-clinton-adviser-sidney-blumenthal-had-financial-stake-us-libya-2134111]).

The Salo-IFT article concluded with this: ".... [T]the 13-page letter [to the top ranking Democrat on the House Select Benghazi Committee] suggests that most of the questions will focus on her relationship with Blumenthal.... Prior to the latest release of emails, Clinton said that Blumenthal’s advice was “unsolicited," but the email threads seem to contradict this claim. In many, Clinton reportedly responds by asking follow-up questions...."

Similar in depth coverage of these matters appears in USA Today ( See "Benghazi panel to release Sidney Blumenthal emails" by Mary Troyan, 10/8/15, USA Today [http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/10/08/benghazi-panel-release-sidney-blumenthal-emails/73592332/]). The USA Today article contained this particularly enlightening passage: ".... Gowdy said he plans to release email traffic within days showing that Blumenthal, a longtime Clinton family confidant, was Clinton’s primary adviser on Libyan policy. More than half the emails sent to and from Clinton regarding Benghazi and Libya prior to the terrorist attacks involved Blumenthal, according to Gowdy’s letter.... 'The fact that former Secretary Clinton relied so heavily on an individual for the Libyan intervention, her quintessential foreign policy initiative, whom the White House explicitly prohibited from working at the State Department is mind boggling,' Gowdy wrote...."

[CONTINUED IN THE COMMENT BELOW]

Galewyn Massey said...

[CONTINUED] UPDATE: THE "BENGHAZI NOOSE IS GETTING TIGHTER AROUND HILLARY'S NECK" EDITION

TREY GOWDY'S LETTER TO DEMOCRAT ELIJAH CIMMINGS INDICATES BENGHAZI COMMITTEE WILL FOCUS ON HOW SIDNEY BLUMENTHAL PARTICPATED IN U.S.-LIBYAN POLICY-MAKING

MANY OF BLUMENTHAL'S E-MAILS WERE ONLY RECENTLY TURNED OVER BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT, WHICH INEXPLICABLY HAD HELD THEM BACK FROM THE BENGHAZI COMMITTEE WHEN HILLARY'S E-MAILS WERE TURNED OVER --- GOWDY SPECIFICALLY CITES THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION AND THE STATE DEPARTMENT FOR A CLEAR DECISION TO WITHHOLD INFORMATION FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND THE BENGHAZI COMMITTEE

[The following is a continuation of the text from the Comment above]

Another very insightful piece on this subject was by "Weekly Standard" reporter Stephen Hayes, who added this important item to the record: ".... In a statement accompanying the letter ;to Cummings], Gowdy makes some of his strongest accusations to date about the Obama administration's obstruction of the committee's work.... 'These messages should have been made public when the State Department released Secretary Clinton’s other self-selected records on Libya and Benghazi, but there was a clear decision at the time to withhold this information from the American people and the Committee,' reads the letter. 'The State Department has now made these messages available, and the Committee intends to question Secretary Clinton about them during her appearance.'... The new documents add to a long list of materials withheld by the Obama administration and Clinton and [Hillary Clintons's personal] lawyers, and raise further questions about what other documents have not yet been turned over to the committee...." ( See "Benghazi Committee: New Emails Show Clinton Promoted Blumenthal Interests in Libya" by Stephen F. Hayes, 10/8/15, The Weekly Standard [http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/benghazi-committee-clinton-sought-blumenthal-advice-libya_1042610.html]).

Galewyn Massey said...

UPDATE: THE "ARE THE WHEELS COMING OFF THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN ?" EDITION

AFTER ALL THE TALK ABOUT HILLARY'S CAMPAIGN GETTING A LIFE PRESERVER FROM HOUSE GOP LEADER KEVIN MC CARTTHY'S GAFF ABOUT THE BENGHAZI COMMITTEE -- A NATIONAL POLL SHOWS HILLARY CLINTON'S NUMBERS TAKING ANOTHER BIG DIP

REUTERS/IPSOS POLL SHOWS ANOTHER DROP FOR HILLARY AMONG DEMS GOING ONTO THE FIRST DEMOCRATIC DEBATE AMONG THEIR CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT


Make no mistake, Hillary still has a lead, but look at this: "Just days before she will take the stage in the first Democratic debate, Hillary Clinton's lead over rival Bernie Sanders has narrowed, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.... Clinton's support among Democratic voters fell 10 points within less than a week.... From October 4 to October 9, Clinton saw her support tumble from 51 percent of Democratic support to just 41 percent.... Her nearest competitors, Vermont Senator Sanders and Vice President of the U.S. Joe Biden, who has yet to decide whether he will run, both made gains. Support for Sanders jumped from just over 24 percent to 28 percent, and Biden rose from 16 percent to a even 20 percent in the same time period...." (See "Clinton's Support Slides Ahead of First Democratic Debate" by Newsmax Staff from a Reuter-Thompson feed, 10/9/15, Newsmax [http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Hillary-Clinton-Bernie-Sanders-Reuters-poll/2015/10/09/id/695556/]).

Before anybody pooh-poohs that as just a right-wing report on a pro-GOP internet news site, the virtually identical story from the same Reuter's feed appeared in Newsweek, which is as MSM as it gets ( See "As First Democratic Debate Looms, Hillary Clinton's Support Slides" by Reuters, 10/9/15, Newsweek [http://www.newsweek.com/first-democratic-debate-looms-hillary-clintons-support-narrows-381930]).