Letters were sent on Thursday by Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) to several private companies that provided software and services to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that allowed her to maintain a private email server.
The letters request all communications and documents related to Clinton’s private server and any information about security breaches that may have occurred during her tenure.
The letters are meant to improve the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity and the Federal Information Security Act (FISMA), which established standards for cybersecurity while enabling federal oversight of information technology programs.
“Understanding these companies’ roles in providing software and services to maintain former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email server is critical to improving government cybersecurity standards,” Smith said. “A high profile government official deviating from established information security requirements raises significant concerns. The sensitive nature of the information stored on Sec. Clinton’s private server created a unique challenge to ensure all of the information was properly safeguarded. The Committee takes seriously its duty to ensure the NIST Cybersecurity Framework is properly equipped to safeguard our nation’s information.”
More than 178 million records of Americans were exposed in cyberattacks last year, while the Government Accountability Office reports that federal agencies in 2014 reported more than 60,000 cybersecurity incidents that exposed personally identifiable information.
Additionally, a score of only 42 out of 100 was assigned to the State Department on the federal government’s cybersecurity report card. The score is lower than the Office of Personnel Management, which recently saw the private information of more than 20 million Americans exposed after an attack.