Comments on: HP probe snared a third News.com reporter

In a surprising twist, telephone records of CNET News.com reporter Stephen Shankland's father were targeted.

[MTGrizzly]

Appears HP doesn't understand the concept of...

..."privacy." They, apparently, have little faith in "due process,"
either. That, or they don't understand that there is a difference
between "wanting to know" and "having to know" something.
What's next? Electronic surveillance? Perhaps stacking up
reluctant witness in pyramids with electrical wires attached to
their bodies?

Come to think of it, apprently HP's chairman is taking lessons
from the current administration - the "end" justifies the means -
"Also on Friday, Dunn apologized to Kawamoto and Krazit, and
said she first learned two days earlier that reporters' records
were pretexted. Nonetheless, Dunn still defended the need for
HP's investigation." It appears that she doesn't care how she gets
the information, just so she gets it.

She just flushed 20 years of my loyalty to HP products. I will
never buy a HP product, again, nor will I ever recommend the
purchase of a HP product by anyone.

[heystoopid]

Slackers!

Slackers, talk about casting a wide net, when will this scandal ever stop!

Or will the rats, now desert the rapidly shinking ship, in a bid to plea bargain down the charges, to fry the head conspirator, to club fed?

[LearningtoThink]

Considering the fine details

So far the rhetoric has been focused on Patricia Dunn and the investigators who secured the information. Presumably HP was or can be supplied with the phone number lists collected by the pretexting. It's worth noting however the original point source of the pretexed phone numbersmost likely still has a copy. One at least in the mail account that was greated to facilitate the operation, and quite likely another one on his computer. Handing off the information to the HP investigators doesn't delete the original email file. Now, these people are in the business of selling information. Who else might there be who would be interested in this information? Do you think that this might be offered to any government agency fishing for information? Who elase might be interested in knowing the business of a reporter?
Also, note that Thomas Shankland is a retired physicist. If he ever did any work for the government the FBI might be interested in knowing who has the phone list, and what they're doing with it. If HP isn't working on locking down the trail of (for lack of a better term, lets call them) rabbit droppings, the company could be in for a whole lot more trouble.

[fred dunn]

What about the Stock Analysts & Major Investors?

If "They" (yes, I think it goes way beyond just Ms. Dunn) can do this to their own directors should we be naive enough to think that the other major investors have not had their records scoured? How about stock analysts?
I think when the dust settles from this they are going to find that this was not a single incident but a pattern of a corporate rampage of unethical and criminal behavior.