Share

HP rocked by spying scandal

San Francisco - Hewlett-Packard chairperson Patricia Dunn clung to her job on Friday as she was battered with accusations that she ordered a probe in which board members and reporters were illegally spied on.

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer vowed to prosecute wrongdoers at the end of his investigation into whether private detectives hired by HP impersonated board members and journalists to get private telephone records.

Dunn had detectives hired to ferret out who had been leaking information from board meetings to members of the press, according to the veteran Silicon Valley computer company.

Lockyer's office launched an investigation more than a month ago after getting word that telephone records of board members were obtained by a ruse known as "pretexting," calling the telecom company and posing as customers.

"We believe a crime has been committed and we are just trying to find out who did it," Lockyer spokesperson Tom Dressler told AFP on Friday.

"We are aggressively pursuing it. Once we are satisfied we have done a thorough job obtaining evidence, we will decide on enforcement actions."

While no law on the California books specifically outlawed "pretexting," the deception violated laws regarding identification theft and unauthorised access to computer data, Dressler said.

A law awaiting signature by state Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger would make "pretexting" illegal.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.93
+0.0%
Rand - Pound
23.90
+0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.41
+0.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.32
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
+0.0%
Platinum
908.05
+1.2%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders