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Chart: HP in the hot seat
By CNET News.com Staff
Published: September 11, 2006, 4:20 PM PDT
The computer maker is the target of a number of probes into the methods it used to uncover a "leaker" on its board.
| Agency | Status of investigation | Potential authority | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Attorney General | Actively investigating, has issued at least one search warrant. | Has said it is looking into potential felony charges under two state laws one prohibiting the unauthorized use of data and the other prohibiting unauthorized use of personal information. | |
| U.S. Attorney, Northern District of California | Is "requesting information similar to that sought by the California Attorney General," HP said in a regulatory filing earlier this month. The U.S. Attorney and FBI have said they are investigating, but have not offered specifics. | Could be looking into various statutes, including the Federal Computer
Fraud and Abuse Act or the | |
| House Committee on Energy and Commerce | Scheduled a Sept. 28 hearing and has received thousands of documents related to the HP probe. Has called on more than a half-dozen people to appear, including HP's chairman and general counsel, who HP has said will appear. | Has congressional oversight over telecommunications and the Internet Committee had already been looking into the issue of obtaining confidential records using false pretenses. | CEO Mark Hurd said he will also make himself available for questioning at the hearing. |
| Securities and Exchange Commission | Has sent HP a letter regarding its May 22 disclosure of director Thomas Perkins' resignation. Has authority over publicly traded companies. | Has authority over publicly traded companies. | Requires additional disclosure when a board member leaves due to a dispute with the company. |
| Federal Communications Commission | unclear | Has authority under section 222 of the Telecommunications Act to oversee carriers' role in protecting customer information. Could explore whether AT&T and other carriers adequately protected customer information. | |
| Federal Trade Commission | unclear | Has authority under Section 5 of the act that created the FTC. | The FTC has initiated civil enforcement actions against entities accused of obtaining phone records illegally. Earlier this year the agency charged five Web-based operations with violating federal law for selling telephone records |
Sort of akin, to catching a thief in your dining room stealing silverware on Thanksgiving and being rewarded/forced to wash the leftover dirty dishes. Being sacrificed, like in a witch-hunt, somebody had to do the dirty work. Banks, collection agencies, salesmen, reporters - all do some form of pre-texting. Now it's made to be federal offense??? Where's the law for corporate boards, governance, and strategic planning like intellectual property law. Did the leaker benefit from his leaks - is anyone going back 20+ years to check into that? There needs to be some Sarbanes-Oxley like law for corporations boards, so nothing like this happens again. Privacy was at risk; however the reporters should not be given a free ride. They get both the benefit of the leaks, protection from not revealing their source and then get to cry foul when someone catches them with their hands and a "deep throat's" hand in the corporate secrets cookie jar. More news - aha - and even more free advertising for the October book release there ought to be a movie!.
They had one remaining tactic before they tried what they did and that was for her (Pattie Dunn) to pass unique information to individual directors, wait a period of time and see whether it made press. But why do something yourself when you can have your henchmen do it for you and claim no knowledge?
This isn't over yet and I have a strong feeling people will be fleeing from that board before it's all over with.
There's a big difference between securing your company assets and bad governance practices like those intiated under Patricia Dunn & Mr. Hunsaker <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.essentialsecurity.com/news.htm?id=43" target="_newWindow">http://www.essentialsecurity.com/news.htm?id=43</a>