HP Chairwoman Patricia Dunn authorized a private investigation of all HP board members to determine who was responsible for a news leak to C/Net. Unfortunately the investigators used questionable practices to get access to board members home telephone records and cell phone records.
It is called "pretexting" and basically involves calling the phone company pretending to be another person on the "pretext" that "you" need a copy of "your" bill. The phone company may ask you to verify your address or ask for the last four digits of your social security number before providing the records. Bad guys do this all the time, no news there. But it is news when HP uses these tactics to investigate it's own board of directors.
Why not just confront the directors in a closed door board meeting and ask who did it, and remind everyone that the business of the board is private and confidential? Newsweek has a long article on the story explaining why Tom Perkins, co-founder of Kliener Perkins, resigned from the HP board in protest. Perkins was not responsible for the leak. The Wall Street Journal reported that George Keyworth, a 20-year HP veteran, was the source of the leak. Keyworth was asked to resign but refused saying that shareholders should make that decision. HP says they will not re-nominate him to the board. C/Net, which received the leak, has a story as well.
This is a sad story from a proud and honorable company. Hewlett-Packard was a pioneering company with solid values and a great image. Hopefully everyone learned a valuable lesson from this mistake and corporate governance will be better for it.
Recent Comments