HP CEO Allowed 'Sting' on CNet reporter

Mark writes "The Washington Post, reporting on Hewlett-Packard's Chairman Patricia Dunn and alleged spying on other HP board members, has obtained e-mails that implicate the CEO, Mark Hurd, who approved an elaborate 'sting' operation on a CNet reporter." From the article: HP's leak investigation involved planting false documents, following HP board members and journalists, watching their homes, and obtaining calling records for hundreds of phone numbers belonging to HP directors, journalists and their spouses, according to a consultant's report and the e-mails."

Don't put the blame on Hurd.

[mikesd81]

Fromt the article: "None of the e-mails reviewed by The Post were to or from Hurd, nor do they detail what information Hurd had when he approved the sting operation."

Just because he approved the action to sting the reporter, he didn't necessairily know what the means were.

Re:Don't put the blame on Hurd.

[bunions]

zuh?

From TFA:

Dunn replied: "Kevin, I think this is very clever. As a matter of course anything that is going to potentially be seen outside HP should have Mark's approval as well."

On Feb. 23, Hunsaker sent an e-mail to Dunn. "FYI, I spoke to Mark a few minutes ago and he is fine with both the concept and the content."

Easy

[wantedman]

If you want to to it the really n00b way: Place a link to a spacer.gif image in the email, then look at who accessed the image from your logs. You can even be script-kiddie clever by using a script disguised as an image to record all sorts of good information, like IP, browser, etc.

And yes, spammers use this to see if someone accessed their emails.

Re:Easy

[cayenne8]

"If you want to to it the really n00b way: Place a link to a spacer.gif image in the email"

That's why I don't view/send HTML mail...I go plain text.

Even on webmail accounts, I set them all to not load images unless I ok it.

I thought that was pretty much common sense??

Re:Quite Believable -Slap on the Wrist

[ccmay]

What is most believable is that Hurd, Dunn, and all the other rich/powerful people will escape justice.

Jeff Skilling, Bernie Ebbers, Dennis Kozlowski, Martha Stewart, and John and Tim Rigas beg to differ with you. George Bush's Justice Department put them all behind bars, some of them for decades.

-ccm

Re:PARENT IS NOT A TROLL

[Anonymous Coward]

Political opinion doesn't matter. No matter who the post was referring to, bush or not, it was a message intended to provoke. "whoever and his cronies".... That fits the definition of troll as far as I'm concerned.

HP's Dunn resigns immediately: "code of conduct"

[swschrad]

violation, according to TheStreet.com and reuters.com.

one down, something like 7 to go, being the rest of the board and Hurd.

what is a violation of the code of conduct for one, is a violation for all.

Chicago Tribune had the california AG thinking about going to Hurd's news conference right after the closing bell on wall street. since he's been talking about plastering the place with subpoenas after the new lawyers gagged public comment from HP, I expect he will have five aides with boxes on handcarts to carry them all.

looking a lot like Watergate here, over the same damn thing. somebody got paranoiacally bent out of shape about one of their designated corporate leakers putting out a couple of things the board hadn't agreed to.

it won't end the same way. we can do without a corporation. we can't do without a central government that you can trust to preserve and defend the constitution of the US.