In school we learned that the only Stupid Question is one that is not asked. In the media the same thing applies; Stupid Questions are not asked. If the media is not asking, it is, by definition, a Stupid Question.
Stupid Questions can be converted to Intelligent Questions if they are asked enough.
A facet of the Hillary Email Scandal not really covered is the physical area where the server was stored. We are being told that everything was on the up and up.
I still have a few Stupid Questions.
Was the personal / business email server being backed up?
If it was not being backed up how can one say the data was really being secured?
If the server was being backed up, where is the backup media?
Was the backup media being stored off site?
Who had access to the backup media?
Did the people handling the offsite backups have proper security clearance?
How often was the server being backed up?
Was the backup solution on the cloud?
What company had possession of the backed up data?
Was that company properly credentialed to have possession of this data?
Has the backup media been sent to the FBI?
From a physical standpoint of the Clinton Home, where the server lived:
Were there power upgrades made for continuous power?
Was there a battery backup (consumers can buy these type of systems) that would run 20 minutes in case of a short power failure?
Is there a more involved system that would, in the case of a longer power failure, trigger a gas fired generator to supply power to this server?
Were there any special fire suppression modifications made to where the server lived?
Was the site air-conditioned?
Was there limited access via a key code or special lockdown area in the house that only authorized personnel could get at the physical server?
On the server itself, were single points of failure looked at?
What happens if a disk crashes?
Did they use a RAID system, an interlocking system of multiple hard drives that could withstand the crashing of a single drive and still function properly?
Was there a failover server?
Who was updating these servers?
Were the updates, or patches applied regularly?
Does this email issue make you think that there was never a law prohibiting the use of a private email server for high ranking government officials because it is so mind-blowingly stupid to think anyone would be crazy enough to try stunts like this?
Yes, there are more glitzy issues of whether the Russians or the Chinese or some kid from Altoona cracked into the system because security certificates maybe were not changed, but physically securing the data is a more mundane, but just as important issue.
The failure in judgment to actually secure this data properly opens up questions, if proven, as to whether Hillary Clinton should face the same types of punishments as General David Patraeus.
General Patraeus shared information with a single person who should not have had access to classified information. The final judgment against General Patreaus was $100,000 and 2 years probation.
Making sure only persons with the highest security clearances could gain access to this server or the data contained on the server is critical to the security of this nation.
Just operating this server in the basement of a house opens up a lot of tough questions about the chain of custody of the data - who could gain access to classified information from computer technicians to folks at the off-site location where backups are stored to the cleaning crew for the house.
We may have been lucky no one got any bright ideas to steal this stuff.
But that luck still warrants a full investigation.
