For those that do not understand the subtext, the reason Napolitano does not use email is that there is no persistent, written record with her name on it that can be used as evidence against her. This is a common strategy/policy used by many people, particularly among the political class. It is an excellent way to inject ambiguity into any potential culpability.
It is a common practice for people that wish to minimize evidence trails should things come to that. Don't conflate "don't use" with "ignorant of". It is a voluntary choice.
That's only a reason to avoid government email- personal email remains personal (which is why Sarah Palin allegedly conducted so much 'state' business via personal email).
It concerns me that the one in charge of protecting so much is so isolated from what they are protecting. I often worry that the proposals to protect the Internet do more harm than good, and I wish those in charge had more vested interests.
Why does she go on to say that some might call her a "Luddite"? This would imply that she doesn't believe in technology, which could logically be extended to perhaps include "understand" technology.
At the same time (at least in Germany) they want to force citizens to use email (accounts) where they have complete control of the servers / infrastructure it is provided from.
In the US they are e.g. strangling GAO that has at least in the past created some level of accountability for government dealing. Other means of oversight are also step-by-step turned into false fronts.
If you go from email (for which regulations for record keeping exist) to other means of electronic communications (e.g. rt-messaging, encrypted messaging with personal / keys linked to your gov. position) you at best increase the efforts for recovery to a level that it becomes infeasible in most cases or make it impossible when [due to strange coincidence] the crypto-keys have been lost.
Guess it more-and-more becomes clear where this is leading to in the long run - zero accountability and arbitrary state power where you have to prove that something is not right (which you then of course can't).
Of course, some government officials aren't quite so smart and seek to just circumvent any recordkeeping system by using private email accounts hosted by 3rd parties [0].
Perhaps it could also be argued that she doesn't use it because she understands it too well... Come on, you think that new NSA station in Utah is limited to foreign surveillance?!
The DHS should be broken back up and most of the sub-agencies should be done away with (I'm looking at you TSA).
Much like the military, it's a solution in search of a problem, and it'll manage to find problems in places where none exist, or where it's presence is inappropriate and unjustified.
The military is a solution in search of problem? Seriously?
I am assuming that getting rid of most of the DHS sub-agencies was an exaggeration. But I can not understand why you would say the military is a solution in search of a problem.
Intriguing! It makes perfect sense given the nature of her role and position, but I'm curious how she operates at such a strategic level without it - if not to send messages, to receive them? I thought mobile networks would be just as liable to be tapped? What tools would they use to communicate?
Many other officials don't use mail either – they've staff doing their communication for them … and for the remaining very private communication, they often use personal telephone calls, SMS and so on. That's simply how (at least older or less tech-savvy) officials work.
George Bush didn't email either, he didn't want anyone reading 'his personal stuff'.
I always suspected he was trying to avoid Nixon's mistake of leaving the tape recording machine running that LBJ installed in the Oval office. I didn't like it then and I don't like it now.
Americans deserve full transparency from their government.
That said, with the adversarial nature of party politics and the limited sophistication of the public's political consciousness, not creating a persistent record may be a rational and understandable choice, even for a public servant with nothing to hide and every reason to feel proud of the work that they do.
I think though that his reasoning is not as cynical as you make it out - there would be some concern that personal email sent to the President from friends, family etc would fall under the official records act.
I don't see any problem with any elected official not using email. I don't care if they avoid technology for the most part. (I know this may lead to them not being informed about technological issues, and this is a negative, but I'd rather have them be knowledgeable in other areas.)
What is a problem is that the DHS secretary would be so disconnected from technology. I personally think that the US is still quite vulnerable to cyberattacks, and that this should be a major national security priority. (It's possible cyberdefense is kept under tight secrecy and there's a whole lot more of it than I'm aware of.)
This reminds me of the SOPA discussions when some of the panel members openly stated (I think with a chuckle) that they weren't sure how this whole "Internet" thing worked... I don't know much about Napolitano's abilities in this arena, but it seems to me that an important part of being an influencer and a decision maker is knowledge not entirely gleaned from research, briefings, and PSAs.
[+] [-] jandrewrogers|13 years ago|reply
It is a common practice for people that wish to minimize evidence trails should things come to that. Don't conflate "don't use" with "ignorant of". It is a voluntary choice.
[+] [-] randomfool|13 years ago|reply
It concerns me that the one in charge of protecting so much is so isolated from what they are protecting. I often worry that the proposals to protect the Internet do more harm than good, and I wish those in charge had more vested interests.
[+] [-] jeffchuber|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] BklynJay|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] fpp|13 years ago|reply
At the same time (at least in Germany) they want to force citizens to use email (accounts) where they have complete control of the servers / infrastructure it is provided from.
In the US they are e.g. strangling GAO that has at least in the past created some level of accountability for government dealing. Other means of oversight are also step-by-step turned into false fronts.
If you go from email (for which regulations for record keeping exist) to other means of electronic communications (e.g. rt-messaging, encrypted messaging with personal / keys linked to your gov. position) you at best increase the efforts for recovery to a level that it becomes infeasible in most cases or make it impossible when [due to strange coincidence] the crypto-keys have been lost.
Guess it more-and-more becomes clear where this is leading to in the long run - zero accountability and arbitrary state power where you have to prove that something is not right (which you then of course can't).
[+] [-] revelation|13 years ago|reply
[0]: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20070551-503544.html
[+] [-] taw9|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] zdw|13 years ago|reply
Much like the military, it's a solution in search of a problem, and it'll manage to find problems in places where none exist, or where it's presence is inappropriate and unjustified.
[+] [-] dfc|13 years ago|reply
I am assuming that getting rid of most of the DHS sub-agencies was an exaggeration. But I can not understand why you would say the military is a solution in search of a problem.
[+] [-] alid|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] brown9-2|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] chmars|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] skym|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] willholloway|13 years ago|reply
I always suspected he was trying to avoid Nixon's mistake of leaving the tape recording machine running that LBJ installed in the Oval office. I didn't like it then and I don't like it now.
Americans deserve full transparency from their government.
That said, with the adversarial nature of party politics and the limited sophistication of the public's political consciousness, not creating a persistent record may be a rational and understandable choice, even for a public servant with nothing to hide and every reason to feel proud of the work that they do.
[+] [-] brown9-2|13 years ago|reply
I think though that his reasoning is not as cynical as you make it out - there would be some concern that personal email sent to the President from friends, family etc would fall under the official records act.
[+] [-] freditup|13 years ago|reply
What is a problem is that the DHS secretary would be so disconnected from technology. I personally think that the US is still quite vulnerable to cyberattacks, and that this should be a major national security priority. (It's possible cyberdefense is kept under tight secrecy and there's a whole lot more of it than I'm aware of.)
[+] [-] riffic|13 years ago|reply
who voted for her?
[+] [-] unknown|13 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] jaryd|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] netdog|13 years ago|reply
However, email is not: 1) a reliable messaging system, 2) a secure messaging system, 3) a private communication conduit.