FBI interview notes show Hillary Clinton used 13 mobile devices and 5 iPads for private email, with 3 iPads missing. Her emails were backed up to an unsecured Gmail account. Cybersecurity expert Robert Siciliano rates the security risk a 10 out of 10, saying physical destruction is the only reliable way to prevent data recovery.
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Notes from the FBI's interview with Hillary Clinton show she committed various cybersecurity gaffes during her time as Secretary of State, and many people fear that America's security was put at risk. So Hillary Clinton had more than 13 mobile devices, 5 iPads with her private email. All the devices but 2 iPads could be, well, not found, unable to be turned over to the FBI. Her email archive was transferred onto an unsecure personal Gmail address for her records. The FBI found that someone identified and attempted to hack into her iCloud accounts, although the effort was unsuccessful. She also could not recall any of her government training on classified info and security due to what she said was a concussion that she sustained in 2012. Joining me now, cybersecurity expert, IDTheftSecurity.com CEO Robert Siciliano. Robert, looking at this from a cyber expert point of view, on a scale of 1 to 10, how vulnerable was the information and these devices that Hillary Clinton was carrying around?
Yeah, I think I'd be remiss if I didn't say 10. The fact that the email was dispersed in so many different devices and that it was backed up on unsecured email servers or Gmail— And that so many other people had access to it tells me that it was inevitable that someone who should not have access got it.
So speaking of, there are some physical devices that nobody can find right now. How concerning is that?
Well, so when you are done with, say, an antiquated device or a secondhand device, you know, consumers generally will sell them on eBay or Craigslist, or they'll donate them or recycle them. Certainly the Clintons have I'm sure didn't do that, we hope, right? But what you're supposed to do is wipe the drive. You know, you reset them back to factory, but that doesn't always get rid of the data. So really the best thing, like what the— I guess the intern did, was they smashed them with a hammer. That really is the best thing to do, is you physically destroy the drive. Essentially shredding it or destroying it generally will get rid of or make the data useless on that particular device.
So even though it's an extremely odd visual, you feel like, okay, given all circumstances, that actually was the best— thing to do.
If in fact they did that. You know, the fact that they don't have the devices in hand, it's somewhat hearsay. They don't know if it actually occurred or not. There's no evidence of it. You know, who knows where those devices actually are, if one's sitting in the back of a cab somewhere, or if in fact, you know, the devices actually are intact in a drawer somewhere.
All right, Robert, thank you very much. We appreciate your perspective. Robert Siciliano. Thank you. Benghazi attack survivor, retired
