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HP Spying More Elaborate Than Reported

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the an-inventer's-garage-meets-keystone-kops dept.

theodp writes "The NY Times reports the secret investigation of news leaks at HP was more elaborate than previously reported. In addition to illicitly gathering private phone records almost from the start, detectives reportedly followed and videotaped some directors and journalists, were given photos of reporters to help identify them, and tried to plant surveillance software on a CNET reporter's computer. HP also fessed up to spying on its own spokesman, whose personal phone records were taken."

7 of 131 comments (clear)

  1. Who does HP think they are? by mhazen · · Score: 5, Funny

    I certainly didn't vote for them in 2004.

    --
    Rock is dead. Long live scissors and paper!
  2. Will anyone care? by TopShelf · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The interesting question is, will anyone care enough about this to stop doing business with HP? Will any major corporate clients reject these practices and refuse to deal with a company that engages in them?

    I'm guessing not.

    There will be a few people punished in a very public fashion, while behind the scenes this sort of behavior becomes commonplace.

    Maybe it's just Monday Morning talking here, but I hope I'm wrong.

    --
    Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
    1. Re:Will anyone care? by HatchedEggs · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I think that the reaction to this is in part wrong. Lets note that the it was select individuals who were doing this... and not all of HP. Certainly, in this case the problems came from the top, but in that it has also been handled and said parties are stepping down.

      In something like this, I don't think you should blame the whole company and try to take it out on HP as a whole. The perpetrators in this instance are quite identifiable, and it is they who should be taken to task.

      What should we expect of HP? More oversight in how they handle their internal leak hunts, etc. Also, to do some work cleaning up their image after this and distancing themselves from those involved. Well, and other things. My point is, why would it make sense to try and punish the company as a whole for this?

      And no, I don't work for HP. It just doesn't make sense to me to blame this on the whole company, as there are tons of great people that work there.

      --
      Justin - Don't be afraid of my blog, it won't bite.
    2. Re:Will anyone care? by maxd24 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Sorry, but these aren't just a few employees, these are board members. They define the direction of the company. In effect, they ARE the company. You're correct that the individuals who work for HP are not to blame, but the corporation as an entity made a decision to conduct business in an illegal fashion. Whatever happens (and I don't expect it to be much) should happen to the corporate entity.

      --
      It happened before. It will happen again. The only questions are when, where, and what are you going to do about it.
  3. Logistical nightmare by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 5, Funny
    HP also fessed up to spying on its own spokesman, whose personal phone records were taken.
    How exactly did they fess up to that? I can just see the spokesman reading a memo to reporters..

    "...and we at Hewlett Packard also regret using false pretenses to obtain the personal phone reacords of their spokesman, one Mr..... the freaking HELL?!"
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    Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
  4. Scandal goes higher than Dunn by motorcrash · · Score: 5, Funny

    According to this newly disclosed recording:

    Simon: Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet your captain, Captain Oveur.
    Clarence Oveur: Gentlemen, welcome aboard.
    Simon: Captain, your navigator, Mr. Unger, and your first officer, Dunn.
    Clarence Oveur: Unger.
    Unger: Oveur.
    Dunn: Oveur.
    Clarence Oveur: Dunn. Gentlemen, let's get to work.
    Simon: Unger, didn't you serve under Oveur in the Air Force?
    Unger: Not directly. Technically, Dunn was under Oveur and I was under Dunn.
    Dunn: Yep.
    Simon: So, Dunn, you were under Oveur and over Unger.
    Unger: Yep.
    Clarence Oveur: That's right. Dunn was over Unger and I was over Dunn.
    Unger: So, you see, both Dunn and I were under Oveur, even though I was under Dunn.
    Clarence Oveur: Dunn was over Unger, and I was over Dunn.
  5. HP's own corporate rules say... by HPness · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/globalcitizenship/csr/sbc brochure.pdf This is a link to the SBC or the standards of business conduct. This was the bible of HP for many many years and it appears that although some question whether these rules are practiced at the lower levels, it appears that they are not at the higher levels either. If this was actions of any HP employee, they would be TERMINATED. This is several magnitudes more extreme of a situation. The idea is not to operate within just the language and the loopholes, but to abide by the intent of the document which is to set the stage for proper conduct with a low threshold in cases where there is any question of being appropriate. This saddens many HP employees who have worked hard to reinforce a positive image of the company which did operate on a much more noble level in the past.