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HP Spying Incident Included Journalists

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the none-spared dept.

rufey writes "It is now being reported that the HP boardroom spying incident that occurred earlier this year also involved obtaining phone records of journalists from at least two news outlets. Journalists from CNET and the Wall Street Journal had their phone records obtained through a method called 'pretexting' to see who, if any, of the HP board members the journalists may have been in contact with."

8 of 177 comments (clear)

  1. This just isn't right. by PreacherTom · · Score: 2, Informative

    I'm sorry, but the confidentiality of the media is a cornerstone of media.

  2. Thomas Perkins' Letter by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 4, Informative
    Thomas Perkins' letter to his fellow HP Board of Directors can be found here:

    The Smoking Gun

    Interesting reading...

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
  3. Some HP Officials May Go to Prison by reporter · · Score: 5, Informative
    For another view of this story, check out the story by "The Washington Post".

    "The Washington Post" reports, " California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said yesterday that 'people in high positions" at Hewlett-Packard "could be involved in illegal activity.' 'Do we think a crime occurred?' Lockyer said. 'Yes.' But he said the attorney general's office was still trying to figure out 'who did what, when.' "

    According to a report by the "San Francisco Chronicle", Patricia Dunn (the chair of the HP board of directors) ordered the execution of the criminal act.

    Give Lockyer's position on this matter, the attorney general will certainly pursue a criminal case against Dunn. She may spend some time in prison since the issue at hand is a criminal matter, not a civil one.

    1. Re:Some HP Officials May Go to Prison by Monkey-Man2000 · · Score: 2, Informative

      I think it's almost certain that she authorized it directly because she apparently announced the investigation and made accusations of leaks at a board meeting. The result was that Perkins abruptly quit.

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      This post was generated by a Cadre of Uber Monkeys for Monkey-Man2000 (603495).
  4. 'Pretexting' is illegal in the USA by Null+Nihils · · Score: 4, Informative
    Journalists ... had their phone records obtained through a method called 'pretexting' to see who, if any, of the HP board members the journalists may have been in contact with.
    Its not just 'a method'. It is 'an illegal method'.

    From the Wikipedia article:
    "The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB) signed into U.S. law in 1999 specifically addresses pretexting as an illegal act punishable under federal statutes."
    1. Re:'Pretexting' is illegal in the USA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      I want to point out that although H.P. is a public corporation they are quite likely to NOT be required to comply with GLBA.

      GLBA is for financial instituions, just like HIPPA is for health care. Working at a bank, I can tell you that we check only the GLBA regulations and not the HIPPA.

      It's a nice quote, but unlikely to be able to be used against anyone at H.P.

  5. Re:Time to call the AG by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    The California attorney general Bill Lockyer is already looking into this. Basically he says he knows a crime's been committed, he just needs to figure out exactly who to prosecute.

  6. Similar Case study by fastgood · · Score: 3, Informative
    Same old story: Procter and Gamble involved in sleazy phone searches, questionable favors from law enforcement, journalist strongarming, laws broken, etc.

    Even if you get caught, its a simple business transaction weighing dollars gained against a little bad press and reputation. Purely consumer companies know that people have short memories, right?