Surprise: More Spying Details Emerge, And They Make HP Look Worse
from the who-needs-ethics? dept
Another day, and more details about HP’s efforts to spy on a number of people are out, and they make the company look even worse. The New York Times weighs in, saying that the spying was more elaborate than previously reported, and that investigators working on behalf of the company weren’t content with obtaining the phone records of one reporter, but may have also followed her. They also unsuccessfully tried to plant a trojan on her computer that would have allowed them to track some of her email activity. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal has reported that the company’s spying may have continued even after the leak on the board was discovered and reported to execs — which could signal that company leaders were aware of the methods being used earlier than previously thought. While HP execs have danced around whether or not they knew illegal and unethical methods like pretexting were being used, it’s getting awfully hard to believe that they had no idea what investigators working on their behalf were doing, as they’ve maintained. It’s hardly surprising that as more details emerge, things look worse and worse for HP and its leadership — all we’re really waiting on now is to see who brings down criminal charges, and who gets indicted, first.
Comments on “Surprise: More Spying Details Emerge, And They Make HP Look Worse”
FIrst yeah. but belive it or not I like HP. Dell ROCKS
Don't waste time in court...
The investigators will take the fall and the directors at HP will play the “plausible deniability” card and come out unscathed.
Re: Don't waste time in court...
Why would you think that?
It hasn’t worked for any high profile cases in recent memory, so why would you expect it to work here?
Plausible deniability alwyays fails of late when it is found by the courts that they were RESPONSIBLE for knowing. It turns out that ignorance IS a crime, even for board members.
Not surprised
All these news and juicy details have been surfacing regarding HP’s dishonest practices, but after the first few news stories, I’m not really surprised anymore. HP may have been able to come up wtih an excuse for pretexting, but following a reporter and attempting to plant a trojan is like purposely rejecting the last remaining customers who may still have trust in thsis company.
What's good for the goose...
Hey, shouldn’t we be trumpeting the patriotism of those fine folks who run HP? They’re just following the shining example of the leader of the free world, our own George W. Bush. I bet he started his illegal wiretapping (and who knows what else) long before HP. And if he says it’s ok…
Stop using that word!
Mike, can you please stop using the word “pretexting?” It’s an illegitimate word for fairly straight forward fraud, and I think by using it you are furthering agendas other than your own.
Re: Stop using that word!
I would like EVERYONE to stop using that word.
But the thing is… language evolves whether you want it to or not. Because a word is USED it becomes a word, and that word must be defined. It will be defined by the context in which it is used. (where did you think words came from, a group of geeks in black judges robes sitting around a HUGE oak table making shit up?)
Because some jackass started using that stupid word, and some other jackass said “hey cool word” we all must bear the brunt of mankinds stupidity for it.
God I hate that word.
Re: Re: Stop using that word!
Got to agree with Anony (you know who you are) on this one. I mean look at Foshizzle……or any other Snoopism for that matter….
Re: Re: Stop using that word!
I dont know why, its a perfectly cromulent word.
The good old daze....
(sigh) I remember when HP was one of the most respected companies in the world. It was a great place to work as well.
Stop using that word!
It is like calling illegal immigrants “undocumented”. Somehow this whole PC thing has gotten so far out of hand that people don’t want to call a spade a spade anymore.
With the use of words that soften (or totally hide) the meaning behind them, it is no wonder that companies think they can get away with things like this. HP did not commit identity theft – they just engaged in pretexting. Maybe that will go down better with the uninformed people, but it sure as heck doesn’t change the fact that they engaged in illegal activities.
Sorry – it sure as heck doesn’t change the fact that they engaged in undocumented activities.
I am aware of how language evolves. Which is why I want people to stop using it. If you stop using, it will die. (Just like people took up pronouncing “harassment” that silly way……and then later stopped).
Stupid word games...
Isn’t it weird how you ALL go off on a tangent…
If you were supposed to drain the swamp you would never be up to your A$$ in alligators because you would not be able to decide whether or not it should be called:
Evacuate the Swamp,
Or de-water the Swamp,
Or Dry the Swamp…
By the way, this is nothing new, people have been hiding behind words for as long as mankind has had a language. Do really think it’s going to stop now?
More stupid word games...
Perhaps we should be ‘politically correct’. They were merely gathering information by:
Unobtrusive and non-destructive surveillance techniques…
Until of course it becomes time to launch the attack.
Kinda like those sneaky japanese in Hawaii right before Pearl Harbor…
worse?
hp can actually look worse? they’ve been spying on their own customers for years… how does it get worse then that?
Re: worse?
What? They have?!? Hey HP… all those girls were over 18, I swear!
Re: worse?
I wonder how a class action suit by there customers would lwork out since all of the machines sold in recent memory had backdoor spyware as part of the system.
worse?
“…all of the machines sold in recent memory had backdoor spyware as part of the system.”
Whats great is that they market it as a good thing.
Oh Look we’ll just fix that for you. No we never look at anything you don’t let us look at. (They never say that they don’t look they’re just saying that you’re letting them. You know they have the capability and then you wonder why that folder with all those pictures your mom can never see is open in the morning when you wake up.)
They are watching and can invade your system whenever they want and they market this as a GOOD thing (a help desk technicians customer assistance entry door for which only they and their ‘security personell’ (the gov’t) know the password.
Genious! Pure Genious!
BTW.. It’d be really great if you guys wouldn’t tell the Gov’t I’m on to them. I really don’t feel like being harrassed yet.
Thanks!