The Daily Caveat is written by Michael Thomas, a recovering corporate investigator in the Washington, DC-area. [More]
Got scoops? Comments? Send'em on, care of
7/17/2008
Pelican Prosecution Changing Attorneys' PI-Hiring Habits?
Raid at Deutsche Telekom HQ
Deutsche Telekom Faces Criminal Probe on Corporate Spying
HP Reaches Settlement With Journalists on Corporate Spying
Tom Perkins Does 60 Minutes to Flog Autobiography
"Valley Boy" Tom Perkins Dishes on HP Spying Scandal in New Autobiography
Conde Nast Portfolio... Welcome to My Radar
Reporters and Family Sue HP in Connection With Company's Spying
HP Settles with SEC on Spying Scandal
Journos Plan to Sue HP on Invasion of Privacy
Technology Companies... Ethics Optional?
Walmart is Watching You (And Everyone You Know)
California Drops Criminal Charges Against HP's Patricia Dunn.
Harpers Digs in on HP Kona II Pretexting Docs
HP Stock Option Investigation Moves Forward
HP Taps New Top Counsel
HP Not New to Pretexting for Phone Records, So Claims Former VP
More on Bryan Wagner Guilty Plea, HP PI To Flip For Prosecution
Sentencing in June for HP Private Investigator
HP Private Investigator Pleads Guilty to Identity Theft
P.I. Faces Criminal Indictment in HP Pretexting Case
HP Ditches Sonsini, General Counsel Too
Senate Passes Anti-Pretexting Bill
HP Settles With California AG on Spying Episode
Hard Times for Sonsini Continue on HP Investigation Tactics
HP Execs Profiting on Pretexting Flap
More from Jules Kroll...On Pretexting, Databrokers, Etc.
Jules Kroll on the HP Pre-Texting Fiasco
Scrutiny Continues at HP Lawfirm, Wilson Sonsini
HP Had Me Surveilled For a Year
P.I., Delia Told HP Execs that Pretexting Was Legal?
The Telegraph Covers Corporate Spooks (Politely, Thanks)
Three P.I.s Plead Not Guilty in HP Case, Father of One Implicated P.I. Asks for Mercy
HPs Hurd Cashed in Stock Options Prior to Pretexting Revelations
Dunn to be Indicted in HP Flap, Hurd So Far in the Clear
Hurd Knew at HP? Apparently... 10/03/2006
Hard Times for Sonsini for his Role in HP Pretexting Flap
Cingular Sues P.I. in Connection with the HP Scandal
The Economist Chimes in On Pretexting in the Corporate World
Dunn Out at HP, and the California AG is Knocking at the Door
No Word on Fate of HP's Patricia Dunn
The Good Folks at TechDirt (and others) Chime in on the HP Embroglio
More on the Pretexting Shenenigans at HP
Shady Dealings at HP, Chief Exec Spying Scheme Hits the Papers
Options Scandal Keeps on Truckin'
The Other Shoe Drops - After Years of Investigation, Plaintiff Firm Milberg Weiss Faces Indictment
Privacy Concerns - Who's Watching the Watchmen?
Merck Chief Announces Resignation / Company's Embarrassing Vioxx Sales Training Hits the News
Pelican Prosecution Changing Attorneys' PI-Hiring Habits?
We've more or less ignored the Anthony Pellicano case here at The Daily Caveat. Frankly, I can't much relate to the kind of "investigative" work he practiced. As salacious and juicy as the case proved to be, it never felt right to cover Pellicano's prosecution in this space.
However, an interesting offshoot of the case (in which attorneys who employed Pellicanos found themselves under indictment) is a "wake up call" for attorneys on how they use the services of private investigators. Law.com has thoughts from several notable attorneys on the ripple effects from the case.
Here's a hint - you want the one who is willing to tell you "NO" and makes it their business to keep you away from garbage tactics that can embarrass your client or sink your firm. Anything that sounds too good to be true probably is.
5/29/2008
However, an interesting offshoot of the case (in which attorneys who employed Pellicanos found themselves under indictment) is a "wake up call" for attorneys on how they use the services of private investigators. Law.com has thoughts from several notable attorneys on the ripple effects from the case.
Here's a hint - you want the one who is willing to tell you "NO" and makes it their business to keep you away from garbage tactics that can embarrass your client or sink your firm. Anything that sounds too good to be true probably is.
It may also be the kind of thing that lands you on the wrong side of an indictment.
Hat tip to Bill Lowrance and the fine folks at the Private Investigators Association of Virginia for the link.
-- MDT
Hat tip to Bill Lowrance and the fine folks at the Private Investigators Association of Virginia for the link.
-- MDT
Labels: Anthony Pellicano, HP, private investigator
Raid at Deutsche Telekom HQ
Investigators are seeking further information on the German telecom giant's organized spying campaign on journalists and company employees. Notably, DT has admitted surveilling Financial Times Deutschland reporter, Tasso Enzweiler. FTD is owned by mega-media conglomerate, Bertelsmann which has mad its own noises about pursing criminal and civil actions against the overzealous DT. Deutsche Telekom, for its part, is in full spin mode, announcing the company's own investigation into the illegal activities.
-- MDT
5/26/2008
-- MDT
Labels: Bertelsmann, Deutsche Telekom, HP, pretexting, Tasso Enzweiler
Deutsche Telekom Faces Criminal Probe on Corporate Spying
Someone didn't learn from the HP fiasco, it seems.
-- MDT
2/14/2008
-- MDT
Labels: corporate spying, Deutsche Telekom, HP
HP Reaches Settlement With Journalists on Corporate Spying
The New York Times is reporting on a private settlement reached between HP and several journalists over HP's acquisition of the journalists private phone records. HP, aided an abetted by law firm Wilson Sonsini famously went on the war path against C-suite leaks under the direction of then CEO Patricia Dunn. Enlisting a small army of investigators from all across the country HP was determined to identify and eradicate the source of the troublesome leaks - by any means necessary.
The means ended up being a smorgasborg of high level and low level investigative tasks - from surveillance to pulling trash to the acquisition of phone records belonging to company board members as well as reporters. In the course of what became known as the Kona II investigation HP board member and Silicon Valley royalty, Tom Perkins - a suspected leaker - got wind of the activities. Perkins subsequently resigned from the board, which in a bit of executive gamesmanship, forced HP to file an 8K with the SEC reporting the departure - and the reason behind it.
About that time the proverbial shit hit the fan and the story was splashed across business pages from here to Taipei.
HP has already skated on any meaningful civil or criminal charges (the firm paid a $14.5 million settlement to head off charges in California), but the attention brought by the pretexting fracas led to new Federal legislation closing the legal loophole that had allowed private investigators to use pre-textual techniques to obtain private phone records. While this latest news of a private settlement brings to a close one more aspect of the story five additional lawsuits brought by journalists and their families remain pending. You an be sure we'll bring further happenings on those cases to your attention.
-- MDT
11/15/2007
The means ended up being a smorgasborg of high level and low level investigative tasks - from surveillance to pulling trash to the acquisition of phone records belonging to company board members as well as reporters. In the course of what became known as the Kona II investigation HP board member and Silicon Valley royalty, Tom Perkins - a suspected leaker - got wind of the activities. Perkins subsequently resigned from the board, which in a bit of executive gamesmanship, forced HP to file an 8K with the SEC reporting the departure - and the reason behind it.
About that time the proverbial shit hit the fan and the story was splashed across business pages from here to Taipei.
HP has already skated on any meaningful civil or criminal charges (the firm paid a $14.5 million settlement to head off charges in California), but the attention brought by the pretexting fracas led to new Federal legislation closing the legal loophole that had allowed private investigators to use pre-textual techniques to obtain private phone records. While this latest news of a private settlement brings to a close one more aspect of the story five additional lawsuits brought by journalists and their families remain pending. You an be sure we'll bring further happenings on those cases to your attention.
-- MDT
Labels: HP, Patricia Dunn, pretexting, Tom Perkins, Wilson Sonsini
Tom Perkins Does 60 Minutes to Flog Autobiography
Can Barbara Walters make him cry? You'll have to tune in to find out.
-- MDT
11/07/2007
-- MDT
Labels: 60 Minutes, HP, Tom Perkins
"Valley Boy" Tom Perkins Dishes on HP Spying Scandal in New Autobiography
Venture capitalist and bon vivant Thomas Perkins is one of the long-time stars of Silicon Valley, but he gained a different kind of noteriety last year when he went to war with then Hewlett Packard Chairman of the Board, Patrica Dunn.
Perkins, an HP director, was fingered (incorrectly) by Dunn as the mole in what became known as the Kona II investigation of HP employees and the journalists with which they may have sharing company secrets. Dunn initiated the investigation, with famed Cali counsel Wilson Sonsini at her side, employing several independent private investigators - all in an attempt to shut down the leaks she felt were plaguing the company.
As has been widely reported, the investigation went well beyond what was advisable or legal and led to a major conflagration in the press as well as state and national legislatures over the issue of phone record privacy and the investigative tactic known as pretexting. Dunn herself, along with HP's general counsel, was a casualty of all this attention, losing her chairmanship and eventually resigning from the HP board.
The Times of London has run an excerpt from Tom Perkins autobiography, Valley Boy, which describes his first person reaction to the Dunn investigation and the thought process behind his subsequent resignation from the HP board. Really good stuff...
-- MDT
8/17/2007
Perkins, an HP director, was fingered (incorrectly) by Dunn as the mole in what became known as the Kona II investigation of HP employees and the journalists with which they may have sharing company secrets. Dunn initiated the investigation, with famed Cali counsel Wilson Sonsini at her side, employing several independent private investigators - all in an attempt to shut down the leaks she felt were plaguing the company.
As has been widely reported, the investigation went well beyond what was advisable or legal and led to a major conflagration in the press as well as state and national legislatures over the issue of phone record privacy and the investigative tactic known as pretexting. Dunn herself, along with HP's general counsel, was a casualty of all this attention, losing her chairmanship and eventually resigning from the HP board.
The Times of London has run an excerpt from Tom Perkins autobiography, Valley Boy, which describes his first person reaction to the Dunn investigation and the thought process behind his subsequent resignation from the HP board. Really good stuff...
-- MDT
Labels: HP, Kona II, Patricia Dunn, pretexing, Thomas Perkins
Conde Nast Portfolio... Welcome to My Radar
The Daily Caveat is a simple man and not one routinely given over to reading CondeNast. But darn it if their Portfolio online imprint (currently in oh-so Web2.0 BETA) hasn't been worming its way to my attention over the last week or so. A few examples:
Lets start with the quick piece on the HP spying lawsuits, a topic discussed in this space only yesterday. As an amusing corollary, there's also this somewhat tongue in cheek guide to surviving corporate spying.
And there is this very interesting story on a couple of hedge fund managers who are currently suing their former law firm, Akin Gump, for what they've come to see as seriously bad advice on what does and does not constitute illegal trading.
For something a little more lo-fi, check out this piece on a Tennessee investiation into graveyard swindlers, Quest Minerals & Exploration who perpetrated "history’s first large-scale white-collar grave robbery." Yea, you'll want to give it a read.
Personally, I'll read anything called Blackmail, Sex & Corporate Secrets which takes as its subject, Lord John Browne, Baron of Madingley and the former CEO of British Petroleum. So there you go...four arguments for a subscription.
-- MDT
8/16/2007
Lets start with the quick piece on the HP spying lawsuits, a topic discussed in this space only yesterday. As an amusing corollary, there's also this somewhat tongue in cheek guide to surviving corporate spying.
And there is this very interesting story on a couple of hedge fund managers who are currently suing their former law firm, Akin Gump, for what they've come to see as seriously bad advice on what does and does not constitute illegal trading.
For something a little more lo-fi, check out this piece on a Tennessee investiation into graveyard swindlers, Quest Minerals & Exploration who perpetrated "history’s first large-scale white-collar grave robbery." Yea, you'll want to give it a read.
Personally, I'll read anything called Blackmail, Sex & Corporate Secrets which takes as its subject, Lord John Browne, Baron of Madingley and the former CEO of British Petroleum. So there you go...four arguments for a subscription.
-- MDT
Labels: Akin Gump, BP, CondeNast Portfolio, hedge fund, HP, John Browne, Quest Minerals
Reporters and Family Sue HP in Connection With Company's Spying
In a move that had been expected for some time, several lawsuits alleging "illegal and reprehensible conduct" have been filed against Hewlett Packard as well as the company's former CEO, Patricia Dunn and Kevin Hunsaker, PH's former ethics chief.
These would be the two company executives most closely associated with the hiring of private investigators, who among other things, used pretextual tricks to obtain private phone records of several individuals who HP suspected of facilitating media leaks of sensitive company information.
Amongst the plaintiffs in the five cases are journalists from the Associated Press and CNET. More on the pending cases via MLive. Loads of background on HP corporate spying fiasco is available via the tags below.
-- MDT
5/24/2007
These would be the two company executives most closely associated with the hiring of private investigators, who among other things, used pretextual tricks to obtain private phone records of several individuals who HP suspected of facilitating media leaks of sensitive company information.
Amongst the plaintiffs in the five cases are journalists from the Associated Press and CNET. More on the pending cases via MLive. Loads of background on HP corporate spying fiasco is available via the tags below.
-- MDT
Labels: HP, Kevin Hunsaker, Patricia Dunn, pretexing, Wilson Sonsini
HP Settles with SEC on Spying Scandal
HP violated mandatory disclosure rules when it failed to come clean in company 8Ks about the reason that shareholder Tom Perkins left the board of directors. Perkins, a noted venture capitalist and an old-school Don of Silicon Vally hardly needed the HP board berth to pad his extensive resume.
As you may recall, Perkins left his seat to protest HP's spying on himself, other board members and various journalists.
HP top brass, including former CEO Patricia Dunn believed Perkins to be the source of media leaks that were hampering the company. In response Dunn, HP's general counsel, outside counsel Wilson Sonsini and a cadre of investigators and subcontractors initiated what came to be known as Kona II, an investigation that included surveillance, pulling trash and obtaining phone records under false pretenses.
There are no "teeth" to the SEC's settlement with HP. The company simply double-promises not to violate disclosure rules in the future. No penalty was assessed.
For further background on the HP shenanigans - that is, if you're not totally sick to death of the story - check out the tags below.
-- MDT
5/09/2007
As you may recall, Perkins left his seat to protest HP's spying on himself, other board members and various journalists.
HP top brass, including former CEO Patricia Dunn believed Perkins to be the source of media leaks that were hampering the company. In response Dunn, HP's general counsel, outside counsel Wilson Sonsini and a cadre of investigators and subcontractors initiated what came to be known as Kona II, an investigation that included surveillance, pulling trash and obtaining phone records under false pretenses.
There are no "teeth" to the SEC's settlement with HP. The company simply double-promises not to violate disclosure rules in the future. No penalty was assessed.
For further background on the HP shenanigans - that is, if you're not totally sick to death of the story - check out the tags below.
-- MDT
Labels: HP, Kona II, Patricia Dunn, pretexing, Wilson Sonsini
Journos Plan to Sue HP on Invasion of Privacy
Three journalists targeted in Patricia Dunn's Kona II leak investigation have retained the services of Panish Shea & Boyle and plan to sue HP for invasion of privacy.
Dawn Kawamoto, Stephen Shankland and Tom Krazit, who all work for CNet's online news service, are not seeking monetary compensation. Rather, they are seeking punative measures against HP for the company's conduct, which included obtaining the journalists phone records under false pretenses - pretexting.
For another account of how HP treated journalists throughout their Kona II investigation, recall the account of the Wall Street Journal's Pu Wing Tam "HP Had me Surveilled for a Year."
-- MDT
4/12/2007
Dawn Kawamoto, Stephen Shankland and Tom Krazit, who all work for CNet's online news service, are not seeking monetary compensation. Rather, they are seeking punative measures against HP for the company's conduct, which included obtaining the journalists phone records under false pretenses - pretexting.
For another account of how HP treated journalists throughout their Kona II investigation, recall the account of the Wall Street Journal's Pu Wing Tam "HP Had me Surveilled for a Year."
-- MDT
Labels: Brian Panish, CNet, HP, Panish Shea and Boyle, pretexting
Technology Companies... Ethics Optional?
Interesting article from CIO Today regarding a rash of ethics issues at tech companies. They site 75 investigations over ethics issues in the last few months. Some familiar faces in there: HP, Take Two Interactive, etc. But the top-down look is worth a read.
-- MDT
4/05/2007
-- MDT
Labels: business ethics, Google, HP, Take Two Interative
Walmart is Watching You (And Everyone You Know)
Internal leaks, paranoia, overzealous management response, legality optional...this sound familiar to anyone?
How long until the P.I.s Wal-Mart hired to do their dirty work end up with their names splashed across the front page of the Wall Street Journal.
Hey! That was fast...although no P.I.s in evidence yet...
-- MDT
3/16/2007
How long until the P.I.s Wal-Mart hired to do their dirty work end up with their names splashed across the front page of the Wall Street Journal.
Hey! That was fast...although no P.I.s in evidence yet...
-- MDT
Labels: HP, surveillance, Wal-Mart
California Drops Criminal Charges Against HP's Patricia Dunn.
Talk about a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing... The California AG, who was full of tough talk only a few months back when it came to the HP pretexting scandal, has dropped criminal charges against HP's former Chairman, Patrician Dunn.
They've also reached plea agreements with her co-defendants (former ethics chief Kevin Hunsaker and private investigators Ronald DeLia and Matthew DePante) basically amounting to restitution and community service.
Still, Federal pursuit of prosecution is not entirely out of the question. To date only PI. Bryan Wagner has so far faced federal felony charges. He previously plead guilty to both identity theft and conspiracy.
-- MDT
3/13/2007
They've also reached plea agreements with her co-defendants (former ethics chief Kevin Hunsaker and private investigators Ronald DeLia and Matthew DePante) basically amounting to restitution and community service.
Still, Federal pursuit of prosecution is not entirely out of the question. To date only PI. Bryan Wagner has so far faced federal felony charges. He previously plead guilty to both identity theft and conspiracy.
-- MDT
Labels: Bryan Wagner, HP, Kevin Hunsaker, Kona II, Patricia Dunn, pretexting, Ronald DeLia
Harpers Digs in on HP Kona II Pretexting Docs
From Harpers's January issue...just snippits but worth revisiting.
Always be careful what you put in an email, Mr. Hunsaker (HP's "I shouldn't have asked" ethics director).
Hat tip to The Consumerist.
-- MDT
3/12/2007
Always be careful what you put in an email, Mr. Hunsaker (HP's "I shouldn't have asked" ethics director).
Hat tip to The Consumerist.
-- MDT
Labels: Harpers, HP, Kona II, pretexting, The Consumerist
HP Stock Option Investigation Moves Forward
The HP pretexting debacle is barely cold but the maker of those printer cartridges that always seem to fail on nice round page numbers has another problem on the horizon, and a familiar one at that. HP has received notice from the U.S. senate, which is seeking the company's help in gaining a deeper understanding of Mercury Interactive's stock option irregularities. HP knew about MI's backdating issues when it purchased the company back in July 2006 but assured investors it was no big deal. Click here for more on HP's legal outlook.
-- MDT
2/09/2007
-- MDT
Labels: backdating, HP, Mercury Interative, pretexting, stock options
HP Taps New Top Counsel
Michael Holston will assume the role of vice president and general counsel for HP, which cleaned house after news of Patricia Dunn's Kona 2 investigation exploded into the newspapers. Holston replaces Ann Baskins who departed HP in September in response to the scandal over the technology company's internal leak investigation.
Investigators working on behalf of HP used pretextual tactics (in this case, assumed identities) to access private phone records of HP directors and even journalists, hunting for the source of high level company leaks. These tactices were supposedly vetted by HP's general counsel's office and also run past outside counsel Wilson Sonsini. WS has also been dumped by HP as the company tries to creep out from under the long shadow of its own making.
-- MDT
1/29/2007
Investigators working on behalf of HP used pretextual tactics (in this case, assumed identities) to access private phone records of HP directors and even journalists, hunting for the source of high level company leaks. These tactices were supposedly vetted by HP's general counsel's office and also run past outside counsel Wilson Sonsini. WS has also been dumped by HP as the company tries to creep out from under the long shadow of its own making.
-- MDT
Labels: HP, Patricia Dunn, pretexting, Wilson Sonsini
HP Not New to Pretexting for Phone Records, So Claims Former VP
Charges of pretexing used in other instances by HP? Former HP vice president of business development, Karl Lambe's case was dismissed, but his allegations sure are interesting...
Meanwhile, it looks like HP PI, Bryan Wagner, who we las saw pleading guilty and gearing up to testify for the prosecution, won't be facing state charges. Prince among men, Peter Henning at the White Collar Crime Prof blog has the reasons why.
-- MDT
1/19/2007
Meanwhile, it looks like HP PI, Bryan Wagner, who we las saw pleading guilty and gearing up to testify for the prosecution, won't be facing state charges. Prince among men, Peter Henning at the White Collar Crime Prof blog has the reasons why.
-- MDT
Labels: Bryan Wagner, HP, Karl Lambe, Peter Henning, pretexting
More on Bryan Wagner Guilty Plea, HP PI To Flip For Prosecution
From the SacBee, one of those stories I meant to post late on Friday but has gotten held over until today. Last week, when the papers were hinting that HP subcontractor, Bryan Wagner would be testifying for the prosecution, here's why:
-- MDT
1/17/2007
More on Wagner's fate via The Sacramento Bee.Bryan Wagner, who faces federal identity theft and conspiracy charges, is accused of posing as a journalist to access the reporter's private phone records as part of the computer and printer maker's ill-fated attempt to ferret out the source of boardroom leaks to the media. The way Wagner was charged Wednesday - he agreed to waive grand jury proceedings - suggests he's likely cooperating with investigators aiming for more high-profile targets, said Matthew Jacobs, a former federal prosecutor in San Francisco who is now in private practice.
"The government likes to start at the lowest point in the chain of responsibility and flip people," Jacobs said. "What it signals is that the government is trying to build the case against those more senior.
-- MDT
Labels: Bryan Wagner, HP, identity theft, indictment, pretexting
Sentencing in June for HP Private Investigator
Following Bryan Wagner's guilty plea. a date has been set for his sentencing - June 20th 2007. Wagner's lawyer has also, apparently, confirmed that Wagner will be testifying for the prosecution.
1/16/2007
Labels: Bryan Wagner, HP, identity theft, pretexting
HP Private Investigator Pleads Guilty to Identity Theft
Bryan Wagner takes a fall.
This guy is not even 30...a cautionary tale for P.I.s who put saying "yes" to a client above the client's best interest - and their own...
Wagner's actions were undoubtably pursuant to the request and at the direction of someone. And we'll find out the who, because Wagner seems to be cooperating. Federal prosecutors are not going to settle for busting the chops of some subcontractor when he can give them HP top brass and, perhaps, a few names from Wilson Sonsini too.
Check out the typical great collection of links on the story from The Jurist.
-- MDT
1/12/2007
This guy is not even 30...a cautionary tale for P.I.s who put saying "yes" to a client above the client's best interest - and their own...
Wagner's actions were undoubtably pursuant to the request and at the direction of someone. And we'll find out the who, because Wagner seems to be cooperating. Federal prosecutors are not going to settle for busting the chops of some subcontractor when he can give them HP top brass and, perhaps, a few names from Wilson Sonsini too.
Check out the typical great collection of links on the story from The Jurist.
-- MDT
Labels: Bryan Wagner, HP, identity theft, pretexting, Wilson Sonsini
P.I. Faces Criminal Indictment in HP Pretexting Case
This would not be the folks from the Boston-area firm, Security Outsourcing Solutions, that you've read about previously, but rather P.I. Bryan Wagner our of San Francisco.
Wagner has been indicted in California on charges of utilizing the social security number of a journalist to obtain that individual's telephone records. He apparently did so at the direction of HP execs, their legal team or other investigators working on HP's behalf as a part of their internal "Kona 2" investigation to identify the source of HP's persistent high-level media leaks.
Wagner is facing charges of conspiracy and identity theft, which could carry penalties of up to seven years in jail. That California AG's office had previously announced that they were going to go hard on this matter and it looks like they are following through on the threat. It is expected, though, that the Wagner indictment is just bait to catch bigger fix. He is expected to cooperate with authorities.
Read more on the Wagner indictment via the IHT.
-- MDT
12/17/2006
Wagner has been indicted in California on charges of utilizing the social security number of a journalist to obtain that individual's telephone records. He apparently did so at the direction of HP execs, their legal team or other investigators working on HP's behalf as a part of their internal "Kona 2" investigation to identify the source of HP's persistent high-level media leaks.
Wagner is facing charges of conspiracy and identity theft, which could carry penalties of up to seven years in jail. That California AG's office had previously announced that they were going to go hard on this matter and it looks like they are following through on the threat. It is expected, though, that the Wagner indictment is just bait to catch bigger fix. He is expected to cooperate with authorities.
Read more on the Wagner indictment via the IHT.
-- MDT
Labels: Bryan Wagner, HP, identity theft, Joseph DePante, Patricia Dunn, pretexting, Ronald DeLia, Wilson Sonsini
HP Ditches Sonsini, General Counsel Too
While Wilson Sonsini may still do some legal work for HP, Larry Sonsini is out as HP's outside counsel, severing a ten year relationship.
Also seeking new opportunities is former HP General Counsel, Ann Baskins. Law.com does their usual bang-up job on digging deep into Baskin's troubling, scandal-ridden last few months with HP. Recommended reading.
-- MDT
Also seeking new opportunities is former HP General Counsel, Ann Baskins. Law.com does their usual bang-up job on digging deep into Baskin's troubling, scandal-ridden last few months with HP. Recommended reading.
-- MDT
Labels: Ann Baskins, HP, Larry Sonsini, pretexting, Wilson Sonsini
Senate Passes Anti-Pretexting Bill
Signed unanimously this past Friday, the Senate has passed a bill making it illegal to use pretexting to obtain phone records via the heretofore commonly used investigative tactic. The heat and been rising on this issue for more than a year, with many states taking the lead with their own laws forbidding the practice. The recent shenanigans at Hewlett Packard saw things boil over, scalding several executives careers in the process.
Provided President Bush finds time to sign the bill into law, pretexting violations will now result in fines and potential jailtime for offenders. Further details, via InformationWeek.
-- MDT
12/08/2006
Provided President Bush finds time to sign the bill into law, pretexting violations will now result in fines and potential jailtime for offenders. Further details, via InformationWeek.
-- MDT
Labels: HP, pretexting
HP Settles With California AG on Spying Episode
Check it:
12/06/2006
"Under terms of the settlement with the California attorney general, HP will pay $13,5m to create a "Privacy and Piracy Fund" for law enforcement activities related to privacy and intellectual property rights operated in the state Attorney General's Office. The company will also pay $650 000 in civil penalties and $350 000 to cover expenses of the investigation, California Attorney-General Bill Lockyer announced."
More here.
-- MDT
Labels: HP
Hard Times for Sonsini Continue on HP Investigation Tactics
Great Law.com article. There is some massive balancing force in the universe that sees Milberg Weiss and Wilson Sonsini (two law firms that have spent more than a fair amount of time on opposing sides of the aisle from one another) both in the legal cross-hairs at the same time.
It is weird the way the world works.
-- MDT
12/03/2006
It is weird the way the world works.
-- MDT
Labels: HP, Melvyn Weiss, Milberg Weiss, Patricia Dunn, Wilson Sonsini
HP Execs Profiting on Pretexting Flap
Oops... Who got caught selling shares while HP was taking a beating as word of Patty Dunn's pretexting initiative hit the papers? Chief Executive, Mark Hurd - that's who. The inevitable shareholder lawsuit has already been filed. Details here.
-- MDT
10/31/2006
-- MDT
Labels: HP
More from Jules Kroll...On Pretexting, Databrokers, Etc.
Lots of stuff from Jules the last few days. Check out his further comments on pretexting (for phone records) and the under-fire data broker industry. A snippit:
Here's The Daily Caveat's take from back in January '06 on the whole phone records issue, which has frankly been brewing for many months. Also, some more recent thoughts on the recent HP debacle. We've covered the issue extensively so search the site for a plethora of related articles.
-- MDT
10/29/2006
“Data brokers have become a very big factor in the last ten years. They are in the business of obtaining data in any way they can. They are at least three or four steps down the food chain from us. It is a business we chose not to go into,” the Kroll chairman said.I couldn't agree more...
“Those people who are legitimate investigators and have followed the rules of the road over the last ten years have been greatly disadvantaged by these brokers.”
Mr Kroll believes that the data brokers are giving his industry a bad name, luring potential customers away from mainstream companies and exposing clients to illegal activity. “I think what you should see is federal legislation against these people,” he said.
Here's The Daily Caveat's take from back in January '06 on the whole phone records issue, which has frankly been brewing for many months. Also, some more recent thoughts on the recent HP debacle. We've covered the issue extensively so search the site for a plethora of related articles.
-- MDT
Jules Kroll on the HP Pre-Texting Fiasco
Speaking of Mr. Kroll... Here's an article well worth reading where he describes how he would have suggested handling HP's investigation of high-level leaks, had his firm been involved. Here's the best bit:
Read on, here.
-- MDT
10/25/2006
"If you read Patty Dunn’s testimony to Congress, she recommended to her general counsel that he hire Kroll,” Mr Kroll says with a grin. “But he did not do that..."Ever the showman.
Read on, here.
-- MDT
Scrutiny Continues at HP Lawfirm, Wilson Sonsini
Silicon Valley's most prominent defense firm, Wilson Sonsini has been in the cross-hairs since the revelations of HP's pretexting tactics in the course of an internal leak investigation first hit the papers. Given that several WS clients have also come down with stock option problems, questions regarding how well the firm oversees the work conducted and advice given by of its attornies have continued.
-- MDT
10/20/2006
-- MDT
Labels: HP
HP Had Me Surveilled For a Year
So says financial reporter Pui Wing Tam in today's Wall Street Journal. Read it online now, before it disappears behind the webwall.
-- MDT
10/16/2006
-- MDT
Labels: HP
P.I., Delia Told HP Execs that Pretexting Was Legal?
The Telegraph Covers Corporate Spooks (Politely, Thanks)
Quite a good article, here, from The Telegraph - for whatever reason the UK press always takes a more educated and friendly tone when reporting on corporate P.I.s. In this case the two firms featured are Diligence and Kroll in a discussion of the new due diligence recommendation currently being drafted for London's AIM stock exchange.
I highly recommend you give it a look, for another side of the P.I. world, one that you won't get from the endless permutations of the HP scandal being turned over elsewhere in the business pages (not that Diligence or Kroll have entirely sterling choirboy-like reputations, mind you, but lets focus on the positive).
As the article makes clear, both firms have found great success in doing great and subtle work on their clients' behalf - work that falls well within the bounds of the law and adds great value to the business process by enhancing the information available for decisionmaking and ensuring transparency in business transactions.
Thomas Helsby, who heads up a bundle of Kroll's international operations describes it quite eloquently in the article:
-- MDT
10/11/2006
I highly recommend you give it a look, for another side of the P.I. world, one that you won't get from the endless permutations of the HP scandal being turned over elsewhere in the business pages (not that Diligence or Kroll have entirely sterling choirboy-like reputations, mind you, but lets focus on the positive).
As the article makes clear, both firms have found great success in doing great and subtle work on their clients' behalf - work that falls well within the bounds of the law and adds great value to the business process by enhancing the information available for decisionmaking and ensuring transparency in business transactions.
Thomas Helsby, who heads up a bundle of Kroll's international operations describes it quite eloquently in the article:
"What we do isn't secret, it is not even unique. At its most fundamental we deal with problems and opportunities, such as supporting lawyers in civil litigation cases. We investigate internal fraud and corruption. We may be working to recover assets or money obtained in a judgment..."There are only two ways information comes to you – through your ears and through your eyes. You ask, 'Who is going to know the information I am looking for and what is the basis on which he can reasonably share it with me?' Most of the time there is someone who knows who has a good reason to share it with you. It is about working out who they are, where they are, and the best way to talk to them."Read on.
-- MDT
Three P.I.s Plead Not Guilty in HP Case, Father of One Implicated P.I. Asks for Mercy
Three investigators, Ronald DeLia of Security Outsourcing Solutions Inc., Matthew DePante of Action Research Group Inc., and Bryan Wagner of Colorado have all plead not guilty on charges relating to their role in the HP pretexting investigation. Alongside former HP chairman Patricia Dunn and former ethics chief, Kevin Hunsaker the three investiators bring the total number charged in the case to five.
Melbourne Australia-based P.I., Joseph Depante, for his part, has asked for charges to be dropped against his son Matthew, who apparently acted as a contractor in HP's "Kona II investigation" headed up by Gary DeLia of Boston-area P.I. firm Security Outsourcing Solutions. Depante suggested that his son should not be charged because he was acting under the authority of the DeLia's group. Depante also claimed no knowledge of the pretexting tactics employed by HP's agents:
-- MDT
10/08/2006
Melbourne Australia-based P.I., Joseph Depante, for his part, has asked for charges to be dropped against his son Matthew, who apparently acted as a contractor in HP's "Kona II investigation" headed up by Gary DeLia of Boston-area P.I. firm Security Outsourcing Solutions. Depante suggested that his son should not be charged because he was acting under the authority of the DeLia's group. Depante also claimed no knowledge of the pretexting tactics employed by HP's agents:
“We had no idea Hewlett-Packard was involved in any of this,” Joseph DePante said Monday. “We were strictly working for DeLia. We are licensed private investigators, but we also provide information and skip-trace work to other companies and entities. We work with a lot of different sources, and those sources work with different investigators.”More from DePante here.
-- MDT
Labels: Bryan Wagner, HP
HPs Hurd Cashed in Stock Options Prior to Pretexting Revelations
This is not exactly great news for Hewlett Packard CEO, Mark Hurd, who had thusfar skirted personal legal trouble in relation to the leak investigation and ensuing scandal that have already claimed the career of former HP Chairman of the Board Patricia Dunn. Hurd and seven other HP execs had the fortuitous timing to cash in their stock options ahead of public disclosure of Dunn's catastrauphically ill advised leak-busting tactics.
More on the story and what it might mean for Hurd, here.
-- MDT
10/04/2006
More on the story and what it might mean for Hurd, here.
-- MDT
Labels: HP
Dunn to be Indicted in HP Flap, Hurd So Far in the Clear
According to the latest from the NYT, California's Attorney General is planning charges against former board of directors chairman, Patricia Dunn for her role in the HP pretexting scandal. Four other will also reportedly face charges, although it does not appear that CEO Mark Hurd will be among them.
More here, via Reuters.
-- MDT
More here, via Reuters.
-- MDT
Labels: HP
Hurd Knew at HP? Apparently... 10/03/2006
Hard Times for Sonsini for his Role in HP Pretexting Flap
Larry Sonsini, Silicon Valley's go-to guy for securities defense (his firm represents nearly half of the technology companies in the valley) is facing harsh criticism for his connection to the recent HP scandal. Check out this quite interesting article from the San Francisco Chronicle which how Sonsini became one of the fathers of Silicon Valley and how Wilson Sonsini became the legal kings of the valley.
-- MDT
10/02/2006
-- MDT
Labels: HP
Cingular Sues P.I. in Connection with the HP Scandal
Cingular has sued Charles Kelly and his firm, CAS Agency, Inc. of Carrolton, Georgia in connection with the HP corporate pretexting scandal. Cingular's case follows asimilar movefrom Verizon just a few days ago. Cingular and Verizon charge that agents of CAS improperly obtained customer data.
And they want it back...
More here.
-- MDT
And they want it back...
More here.
-- MDT
Labels: HP
The Economist Chimes in On Pretexting in the Corporate World
A tad dated, due to my being away for a few weeks, but still well worth reading. I'll have to get caught up on the HP situation myself, and I'm going to start by reading this, this and this.
-- MDT
9/13/2006
-- MDT
Labels: HP
Dunn Out at HP, and the California AG is Knocking at the Door
Patricia Dunn has already announced that she'll step down from her role as HP's Chairman at the start of '07, in the wake of the pretexting hullabalu that has exploded in the national press over the last week or so. Dunn will apparently remain on the HP board (we'll see if that sticks) and the company is girding itself for a closer look from state and federal authorities. The state of California, for its part, has already begun an investigation and recently announced that it has sufficient evidence to charge HP brass.
Also, since we last checked in on the story, the investigative firm hired by HP's has been outed by the New York Times, Boston-based Security Outsourcing Solutions, although published reports have also indicated that S.O.S. (the irony) hired subcontractors to do the actual impersonating...
-- MDT
9/11/2006
Also, since we last checked in on the story, the investigative firm hired by HP's has been outed by the New York Times, Boston-based Security Outsourcing Solutions, although published reports have also indicated that S.O.S. (the irony) hired subcontractors to do the actual impersonating...
-- MDT
Labels: HP
No Word on Fate of HP's Patricia Dunn
Hewlett Packard CEO and spymaster, Patricia Dunn is sitting in quite the hot seat this week. Clearly she underestimated the potential (turns out, overwhelmingly) negative reaction to public disclosure of her acquisition of ten HP directors' personal phone records through questionable means. Dunn is now facing a much bigger problem than the media leaks her mole hunting was supposed to eliminate. The HP board is set to meet again as soon as today to determine what, if anything, will be done with Dunn. Meanwhile, here's a handy FAQ on the whole situation, from CNet and a little background on the phone records privacy issue. No new news for regular readers of this space.
As an aside, when we founded Caveat Research, my former firm, back in 2004, we made a decision that we would not employ pretextual interview techniques, and we certainly would have never, via a pretext, used an individual's personal details to obtain their private phone records. Even without pretexting, I'd like to think that our work product stood well alongside anyone else's in the business. All the same, you have to feel for Patricia Dunn. She's the CEO of a long-struggling company that was faced with regular, frustrating leaks to the media that she felt hurt their business.
As an executive might on any other internal fraud matter, she employed investigators to get to the bottom of it. And she DID get her man. The problem comes with the short cuts allowed by the phone record legal loophole (soon to be closed). With their tactics the investigators involved put their client (or in this case, their client's client) in line for potentially serious blowback. The investigators could have likely come up with evidence just as damning regarding confirmed leaker, George Keyworth II, without employing pretexting, just as professional atheletes who use steroids could in many cases reach the same heights of performace without the use of drugs. The results might not be as comprehensive or sexy and the investigation might have taken longer, but no one would be talking about Dunn losing her job at this point either.
-- MDT
9/07/2006
As an aside, when we founded Caveat Research, my former firm, back in 2004, we made a decision that we would not employ pretextual interview techniques, and we certainly would have never, via a pretext, used an individual's personal details to obtain their private phone records. Even without pretexting, I'd like to think that our work product stood well alongside anyone else's in the business. All the same, you have to feel for Patricia Dunn. She's the CEO of a long-struggling company that was faced with regular, frustrating leaks to the media that she felt hurt their business.
As an executive might on any other internal fraud matter, she employed investigators to get to the bottom of it. And she DID get her man. The problem comes with the short cuts allowed by the phone record legal loophole (soon to be closed). With their tactics the investigators involved put their client (or in this case, their client's client) in line for potentially serious blowback. The investigators could have likely come up with evidence just as damning regarding confirmed leaker, George Keyworth II, without employing pretexting, just as professional atheletes who use steroids could in many cases reach the same heights of performace without the use of drugs. The results might not be as comprehensive or sexy and the investigation might have taken longer, but no one would be talking about Dunn losing her job at this point either.
-- MDT
Labels: Caveat Research, HP, Patricia Dunn
The Good Folks at TechDirt (and others) Chime in on the HP Embroglio
And Mike Masnick does on not exactly have positive things to say about Patricia Dunn's tactics - tactics which now threaten to place HP in the cross-hairs of a variety of Federal and state law enforcement agencies based on the admitted use of pretexting by investigators (or data brokers employed on behalf of investigators) retained by HP at the highest level.
Now, pretexting for financial records is solidly in the illegal column, as per the Graham Leach Bliley Act of '99. Pretexting to accuire other personal information, say, phone records, for instance is a somewhat grayer area. Definitely frowned upon, but, strictly illegal, not really (although in California...maybe at least a misdemeanor).
More (undoubtably) to come.
-- MDT
9/06/2006
Now, pretexting for financial records is solidly in the illegal column, as per the Graham Leach Bliley Act of '99. Pretexting to accuire other personal information, say, phone records, for instance is a somewhat grayer area. Definitely frowned upon, but, strictly illegal, not really (although in California...maybe at least a misdemeanor).
More (undoubtably) to come.
-- MDT
More on the Pretexting Shenenigans at HP
Tom Perkins not the mole...George Keyworth, fingered? So says the WSJ. And CEO Patricia Dunn's okaying of third parties using pretexts with phone companies in order to "acquire" private phone records of company directors...well that bit is just heating up.
More here.
-- MDT
9/05/2006
More here.
-- MDT
Labels: HP
Shady Dealings at HP, Chief Exec Spying Scheme Hits the Papers
I hate when you've been writing something for, oh say, 30 minutes or so and then your browser freezes and you lose everything... These are the times that try men's souls...
So consider yourself spared of my lengthy peanut gallery musings. Cut to the chase and read David Kaplan's new Newsweek article which details the increasingly ugly fight between Hewlett Pakard's current chair, Patricia Dunn and former director Thomas Perkins, who resigned after discovering that Dunn had initiated electronic surveillance of 10 HP directors in an attempt to discover who had been leaking juicy company details to the press.
"Surveillance" in this case apparently means paying folks to obtain the person private phone records of the directors in question (a subject we've addressed repeatedly at The Daily Caveat). Perkins, for his part, in addition to being furious about the whole affair also denies being the leaker. Post-resignation from his board seat, he has been attempting to force HP to publicly reveal Dunn's surveillance scheme, which Kaplan's article has now done nicely.
Perkins has been trying to force HP to revise the 8K filed with the SEC at the time of his resignation. These documents are supposed to record the reasons for a director's departure (and are a regular tool of investigators seeking to I.D. witnesses) especially if the breakup involves a dissagreement with the company. Perkin's 8K, however, was curiously devoid of any such nuances.
The Perkins 8K was expected to be revised any day now by HP, and it looks like as of Wed morning, it has been, to reflect their take on the whole - still bubbling - affair.
-- MDT
6/18/2006
So consider yourself spared of my lengthy peanut gallery musings. Cut to the chase and read David Kaplan's new Newsweek article which details the increasingly ugly fight between Hewlett Pakard's current chair, Patricia Dunn and former director Thomas Perkins, who resigned after discovering that Dunn had initiated electronic surveillance of 10 HP directors in an attempt to discover who had been leaking juicy company details to the press.
"Surveillance" in this case apparently means paying folks to obtain the person private phone records of the directors in question (a subject we've addressed repeatedly at The Daily Caveat). Perkins, for his part, in addition to being furious about the whole affair also denies being the leaker. Post-resignation from his board seat, he has been attempting to force HP to publicly reveal Dunn's surveillance scheme, which Kaplan's article has now done nicely.
Perkins has been trying to force HP to revise the 8K filed with the SEC at the time of his resignation. These documents are supposed to record the reasons for a director's departure (and are a regular tool of investigators seeking to I.D. witnesses) especially if the breakup involves a dissagreement with the company. Perkin's 8K, however, was curiously devoid of any such nuances.
The Perkins 8K was expected to be revised any day now by HP, and it looks like as of Wed morning, it has been, to reflect their take on the whole - still bubbling - affair.
-- MDT
Labels: HP
Options Scandal Keeps on Truckin'
Richard Gwyn at the Toronto Star calls the FT to task and takes a stab at an eye level description of the mounting optiosn backdating scandal that by the day is eating the lunches of more and more of Wallstreet's top firms, (welcome aboard, Microsoft) with restatements and indictments sure to come. To hear Mr. Gwyn out, give a click.
-- MDT
5/22/2006
-- MDT
Labels: HP
The Other Shoe Drops - After Years of Investigation, Plaintiff Firm Milberg Weiss Faces Indictment
The Daily Caveat has been following this story for as long as this blog has been around. Government investigators have been probing noted securities plaintiff firm Milber Weiss for more than five years now looking for improprieties in the way the firm handles the management of the large class action cases that often fall under its care. To a lesser extent, also in the cross-hairs was Bill Lerach, a former Milberg partner who, after a falling out with Milberg top-dog Melvyn Weiss, opted to leave the firm has open up his own shop.
Things really started to heat up in the seemingly aimless investigation last summer with the indictment of two Palm Springs, California attorneys who alledgedly participated in a scheme of kickback payments from Milberg to individuals serving as lead plaintiffs for the firm. Seymour Lazar, a movie industry lawyer who once dated Maya Angelou was indicted on charges of receiving kickbacks from Milberg Weiss and Paul Selzer, a real estate lawyer was accused of helping to launder the payments. In the indictment against Lazar and Selzer, as much as $44 million alledgely passed through their hands in illegal kickbacks from Milberg Weiss.
The roots of the Lazar indictment lie in part with art dealer and convicted insurance fraudster, Steven Cooperman. Cooperman was in seven kinds of legal trouble and facing a ten-year sentence when he offered federal prosecutor inside knowledge on Milberg's practices based on his own experience serving some 60 times as a lead plaintiff for the firm. A great deal of information was also gleaned from the briefs filed in Cooperman's nasty divorce. According to testimony by Cooperman in the divorce case, between 1988 and 1997 he received about $5 million from his arrangement with Milberg Weiss.
While Lazar has all along fought the charges against him and refused to roll on Milberg, another former lead plaintiff, Howard J. Vogel, signed a plea deal with prosecutors and, in exchange for avoiding prosecution himself, has offered up his knowledge of the firm. Vogel and members of his family have served as plaintiffs as many as 40 Milberg receiving approximately $2.5 million in illegal kickbacks.
Subsequently we also learned that former Milberg partner, Alan Schulman, who is now a partner at rival firm, Bernstein Litowitz cooperated with the California Grand Jury investigating Milber Weiss. There was apparently no love lost between Schulman and his former firm, and he was all too happy to dish on what he saw as imappropriate tactics used by his former employer.
Midweek-last week saw two Milberg executive partners take a not expected leave of absence. David Bershad and Steven Schulman, both of whom had been courteously informed a few months back that they should keep their dancecards open for the Feds, departed Milberg for the time being to face pending indictments against each of them in relation to the kickback investigation.
The question is, will they have a firm to return to?
Before The Daily Caveat could even get a weekend to catch its breath the California Grand Jury handed down a 20-count indictment against Milberg Weiss based on allegations that, from 1981 to 2005 , in the course of their management of plaintiff class action cases, the firm paid kickbacks to lead plaintiffs and other facillitators. Clearly for Milberg and the prosecutors who have been giving chase for the last several years, the past is prologue and the real story has only just begun.
-- MDT
6/22/2005
Things really started to heat up in the seemingly aimless investigation last summer with the indictment of two Palm Springs, California attorneys who alledgedly participated in a scheme of kickback payments from Milberg to individuals serving as lead plaintiffs for the firm. Seymour Lazar, a movie industry lawyer who once dated Maya Angelou was indicted on charges of receiving kickbacks from Milberg Weiss and Paul Selzer, a real estate lawyer was accused of helping to launder the payments. In the indictment against Lazar and Selzer, as much as $44 million alledgely passed through their hands in illegal kickbacks from Milberg Weiss.
The roots of the Lazar indictment lie in part with art dealer and convicted insurance fraudster, Steven Cooperman. Cooperman was in seven kinds of legal trouble and facing a ten-year sentence when he offered federal prosecutor inside knowledge on Milberg's practices based on his own experience serving some 60 times as a lead plaintiff for the firm. A great deal of information was also gleaned from the briefs filed in Cooperman's nasty divorce. According to testimony by Cooperman in the divorce case, between 1988 and 1997 he received about $5 million from his arrangement with Milberg Weiss.
While Lazar has all along fought the charges against him and refused to roll on Milberg, another former lead plaintiff, Howard J. Vogel, signed a plea deal with prosecutors and, in exchange for avoiding prosecution himself, has offered up his knowledge of the firm. Vogel and members of his family have served as plaintiffs as many as 40 Milberg receiving approximately $2.5 million in illegal kickbacks.
Subsequently we also learned that former Milberg partner, Alan Schulman, who is now a partner at rival firm, Bernstein Litowitz cooperated with the California Grand Jury investigating Milber Weiss. There was apparently no love lost between Schulman and his former firm, and he was all too happy to dish on what he saw as imappropriate tactics used by his former employer.
Midweek-last week saw two Milberg executive partners take a not expected leave of absence. David Bershad and Steven Schulman, both of whom had been courteously informed a few months back that they should keep their dancecards open for the Feds, departed Milberg for the time being to face pending indictments against each of them in relation to the kickback investigation.
The question is, will they have a firm to return to?
Before The Daily Caveat could even get a weekend to catch its breath the California Grand Jury handed down a 20-count indictment against Milberg Weiss based on allegations that, from 1981 to 2005 , in the course of their management of plaintiff class action cases, the firm paid kickbacks to lead plaintiffs and other facillitators. Clearly for Milberg and the prosecutors who have been giving chase for the last several years, the past is prologue and the real story has only just begun.
-- MDT
Labels: Bernstein Litowitz and Berger, Howard Vogel, HP, Melvyn Weiss, Milberg, Milberg Weiss
Privacy Concerns - Who's Watching the Watchmen?
With all the hullabaloo regarding identity theft and the slew of stories highlighting the apparent inability of corporate American to safe-guard employee and customer information from thieving data-bandits a couple of recent stories have been overlooked that highlight questionable access to personal details from an other quarter - the federal government.
Today's New York Times has an interesting piece on the Internal revenue Service and Social Security Administration's willingness to relax their privacy guidelines at the request of the F.B.I. In a recently released report the federal agencies cite "life-threatening emergencies" in general and specifically the 9/11 investigation as the reason for complying with the F.B.I.'s requests.
-- MDT
5/06/2005
Today's New York Times has an interesting piece on the Internal revenue Service and Social Security Administration's willingness to relax their privacy guidelines at the request of the F.B.I. In a recently released report the federal agencies cite "life-threatening emergencies" in general and specifically the 9/11 investigation as the reason for complying with the F.B.I.'s requests.
"We ran thousands of Social Security numbers," said a former senior F.B.I. official who insisted on anonymity because the files involved internal cases. "We got very useful information, that's for sure," the former official said. "We recognized the value of having that information to track leads, and, to their credit, so did the Social Security Administration."Some privacy advocates and members of Congress, although sympathetic to the extraordinary demands posed by the Sept. 11 investigation, said they were troubled by what they saw as a significant shift in privacy policies. Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, a New York Democrat who has sought information from the Social Security agency on the issue, said the new policy had "real civil liberties implications for abuse." Ms. Maloney questioned whether Congress was adequately informed. "If we don't know when the Social Security Administration decides to change its rules to disclose personal information," she said, "I think Americans have a right to be skeptical about their privacy."
The director of the Open Government Project at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Marcia Hofmann, acknowledged the need for investigators to have access to vital information. "But an ad hoc policy like this is so broad that it allows law enforcement to obtain really sensitive information by merely claiming that the information is relevant to the 9/11 investigation," Ms. Hofmann said. "There appears to be very little oversight."
In addition to easing its rules, the Social Security agency agreed to waive normal privacy restrictions for information related to the F.B.I. investigation of the sniper shootings in the Washington region in 2002, the internal memorandums show. It does not appear that any information was ultimately turned over. The agency agreed two days after the Sept. 11 attacks to give the F.B.I. access to material from its files to obtain information on the hijackers, anyone with "relevant information" on the attacks and victims' relatives.
Under Social Security Administration policy, which goes beyond federal privacy law, such information cannot typically be shared with law enforcement officials unless the subject has been indicted or convicted of a crime. The loosening of the policy was updated and reauthorized last year, the internal documents show, and Social Security officials said Tuesday that it remained in place.
Read the full story.
Meanwhile on Monday, the Transportation Security Administration owned up to collecting information on airline passangers even thought Congress had previously instructed the agency to do no such thing. The TSA
Read the full article here.A Transportation Security Administration contractor used three data brokers to collect detailed information about U.S. citizens who flew on commercial airlines in June 2004 in order to test a terrorist screening program called Secure Flight, according to documents that will be published in the Federal Register this week. The TSA had ordered the airlines to turn over data on those passengers, called passenger name records, in November.
The contractor, EagleForce Associates, then combined the passenger name records with commercial data from three contractors that included first, last and middle names, home address and phone number, birthdate, name suffix, second surname, spouse first name, gender, second address, third address, ZIP code and latitude and longitude of address.
-- MDT
Labels: HP, identity theft
Merck Chief Announces Resignation / Company's Embarrassing Vioxx Sales Training Hits the News
Article via the very fine Day on Torts blog produced by attorney John Day of Brentwood Tennessee's Branham & Day.
And in the category of further corporate embarrassment, there has been wide reporting today about Merck's overwrought and seemingly delusional training for it's sales reps. Among the historical figures used as examples of effective salesmanship were Helen Keller, George Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr., according to the L.A. Times.
Surprisingly not mentioned in the sales training? The health risks associated with Vioxx - risks that have since seen the drug pulled from the market.
Think Progress has further details about exactly how these figures were evoked and how their respective accomplishments and personal sacrifices were used to shill pharmaceuticals. TP also have links to the congressional testimony where these details came to light as well as a link to the 30 page memoranda submitted to congress by Rep. Henry Waxman.
We shall overcome, indeed...
-- MDT
Merck Announces Resignation of Chief and Names ReplacementRead more about Merck's upcoming plans here.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
May 5, 2005
The other shoe finally dropped at drugmaker Merck & Co. With lawsuits mounting, revenues, profit and stock price all down sharply since it recalled its blockbuster painkiller Vioxx, and its top drug losing patent protection, Merck on Thursday replaced longtime CEO and chairman Raymond V. Gilmartin.
Richard T. Clark, head of Merck's manufacturing operations, was named president and chief executive, but how much power he will wield is in question. Merck's board chose to go without a chairman for up to two years, giving those duties to a new, three-member executive committee headed by heavyweight board member Lawrence Bossidy, former CEO of Honeywell International Inc.
And in the category of further corporate embarrassment, there has been wide reporting today about Merck's overwrought and seemingly delusional training for it's sales reps. Among the historical figures used as examples of effective salesmanship were Helen Keller, George Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr., according to the L.A. Times.
Surprisingly not mentioned in the sales training? The health risks associated with Vioxx - risks that have since seen the drug pulled from the market.
Think Progress has further details about exactly how these figures were evoked and how their respective accomplishments and personal sacrifices were used to shill pharmaceuticals. TP also have links to the congressional testimony where these details came to light as well as a link to the 30 page memoranda submitted to congress by Rep. Henry Waxman.
We shall overcome, indeed...
-- MDT
Labels: HP
Create a Link