New Revelation: Clinton Knew of Blackberry Security Concerns

Newly released emails reveal Hillary Clinton was made aware of security concerns over her Blackberry when she became secretary of state.

She requested a secure Blackberry from the National Security Agency in 2009, but the NSA denied her request.

Officials argued there were security vulnerabilities with using Blackberry devices for secure communications or in secure areas.

Clinton was sworn in as secretary the prior month, and had become "hooked" on reading and answering emails on a BlackBerry she used during the 2008 presidential race.

"We began examining options for (Secretary Clinton) with respect to secure 'BlackBerry-like' communications," wrote Donald R. Reid, the State Department's assistant director for security infrastructure. "The current state of the art is not too user friendly, has no infrastructure at State, and is very expensive."

One month after Clinton's request was denied, she began using a private email account on her Blackberry phone to exchange messages containing sensitive information.

Security experts have raised concerns that her arrangement could have left the messages vulnerable to attack by hackers, including those working for foreign intelligence agencies.

Tom Fitton, president of the watchdog group Judicial Watch, says the new emails make it clear that Clinton knew there were security issues and should have known better than to operate a personal email server.

"These documents show that Hillary Clinton knew her Blackberry wasn't secure," Fitton said. "The FBI and prosecutors ought to be very interested in these new materials."

Clinton is under investigation for possibly jeopardizing national security by sending classified information on her private email, including a number of emails with information beyond the "top secret" classification.