White House e-mail system deemed 'primitive'

The White House e-mail system is “primitive” and creates a “high” risk that data would be lost, according to a computer expert’s statements presented today at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing.

Steven McDevitt, who used to work at the White House, has provided the first inside look into the White House’s e-mail system. Included in McDevitt’s statements was an October 2005 study conducted by White House technical staff that found nearly 1,000 days where e-mail was missing.

Two federal laws require electronic messages be preserved.

McDevitt also asserted that the White House’s e-mail setup has been faulty for the past six years. No inventory had been set up for e-mail files and no automatic system established to make sure messages were preserved and archived.