, Columnist
Homeland Security Leaders Bent Rules on Private E-Mail
The department banned webmail to prevent hacking. Then it started granting exceptions.
Jeh Johnson's department just got stricter about Gmail.
Photographer: Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesJeh Johnson, the secretary of homeland security, and 28 of his senior staffers have been using private Web-based e-mail from their work computers for over a year, a practice criticized by cybersecurity experts and advocates of government transparency.
The department banned such private e-mail on DHS computers in April 2014. Top DHS officials were granted informal waivers, according to a top DHS official who said that he saw the practice as a national security risk. The official said the exempt staffers included Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Chief of Staff Christian Marrone and General Counsel Stevan Bunnell.