Bush knocks Clinton over cyber practices

Jeb Bush on Tuesday criticized Hillary Clinton for her cybersecurity practices, although he declined to name the former Secretary of State by name.

{mosads} The comment appeared in an op-ed the GOP presidential candidate wrote in Business Insider detailing his cybersecurity platform  in which he reeled off a number of high-profile digital threats currently facing the U.S.

“In the face of this threat, we can be certain of one thing: We can’t trust someone as our next president who didn’t take cybersecurity seriously when she was secretary of state,” Bush wrote in the op-ed’s second paragraph.

Bush’s statement is an apparent reference to Clinton’s use a private email server during her tenure as Secretary of State. Republicans have repeatedly insisted that the practice opened up national security secrets to hackers.

A federal probe is  investigating Clinton’s use of the server.

Bush also dinged the Obama administration for its handling of cybersecurity.

“Cybersecurity has been undermined by a lack of leadership and by massive cuts to the U.S. military and intelligence community imposed by Obama and Congress,” he wrote.

The former Florida governor went on to suggest the current administration’s handling of Chinese hacking of U.S. interests has been overly trusting

President Obama negotiated an agreement with China in September under which both countries pledged to neither conduct nor support hacks on one another’s companies.

While the White House has taken a “wait and see” approach to give Beijing time to dismantle its extensive hacking apparatus, some lawmakers are frustrated that the administration hasn’t provided any evidence that Beijing is upholding its end of the pledge.

Critics argue the agreement doesn’t include a meaningful enforcement mechanism. Some reports have indicated that China is still actively hacking U.S. interests.

It “would be naive to believe [China and other countries that hack the U.S.] will abide by such agreements unless we are willing to impose meaningful consequences,” Bush wrote.