US Vice President Mike Pence was hacked during his time as governor of Indiana, after he repeatedly used his personal America Online email account for official matters, including subjects related to homeland security and terror attacks, according to the Indianapolis Star.
This raises concerns about the safety of data related to US national security, as it is not the first time a US official has used a personal account for state business. Pence’s office considers “absurd” any comparison with the Clinton email and private server hack.
Over 30 pages of emails from his account were released to the newspaper by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb’s office.
“In one email, Pence’s top state homeland security adviser relayed an update from the FBI regarding the arrests of several men on federal terror-related charges,” it writes.
Pence’s email was attacked last June by a hacker who accessed sensitive information and sent to the entire contact list fake emails claiming Pence and his wife had been attacked in the Philippines.
“Similar to previous governors, during his time as Governor of Indiana, Mike Pence maintained a state email account and a personal email account. As Governor, Mr. Pence fully complied with Indiana law regarding email use and retention,” stated Pence’s office. “Government emails involving his state and personal accounts are being archived by the state consistent with Indiana law, and are being managed according to Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act.”
