Hewlett-Packard found itself in more than a little hot water over its board of directors’ efforts to determine the source of company information leaked to media sources. Each day, additional information regarding the involvement of Chairwoman Patricia Dunn, Chief Executive Mark Hurd and other officials emerged and the scandal continued to unravel.
CIO.com covered the story in-depth. Here are all the developments as they happened.
Sep 06, 2006 | HP filing reveals board infighting, leaks
According to an 8-K filing HP made to the SEC, Thomas Perkins quit over concerns about the HP board’s handling of investigations into leaks of confidential information.
Sep 08, 2006 | HP obtained reporters’ phone records in probe
The company sent the list of the nine reporters to the office of the attorney general of California, in response to the attorney general’s inquiries.
Sep 11, 2006 | No decision at Sunday HP board meeting
The board held a teleconference Sunday morning for several hours, according to a brief company statement issued Sunday afternoon, to discuss reports that outside investigators, acting on behalf of the board, obtained phone records of directors and journalists to trace the source of information leaks regarding board meetings.
Sep 12, 2006 | HP spying allegations probed by U.S. DoJ
HP acknowledged in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday that it is cooperating with an inquiry by the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California into possibly illegal tactics used by investigators hired by HP to investigate news leaks from the company’s board members.
Sep 12, 2006 | HP CEO Hurd to take over for Chairwoman Dunn in Jan.
The mounting pressure on Dunn reached a peak as Congress and federal investigators stepped into the probe of HP’s alleged acquisition of reporters’ phone numbers to determine the sources of information contained in media reports about the company.
Sep 13, 2006 | Calif. says it has evidence to charge HP officials
A day after Hewlett-Packard (HP) Chairwoman Patricia Dunn promised to step down for her role in a spy scandal, the state of California is continuing its effort to indict her and the private investigators she used.
Sep 15, 2006 | House committee seeks testimony from HP execs
Patricia Dunn, the Hewlett-Packard (HP) chairwoman who recently announced that she’ll leave her post in January, and the computer maker’s general counsel, Ann Baskins, have been asked by the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee to testify in a Sept. 28 hearing on the ongoing scandal unfolding at the firm over its efforts to weed out media leaks.
Sep 18, 2006 | Reports: HP probe included physical, e-mail tracking
Hewlett-Packard (HP) board members and journalists were under physical surveillance by investigators trying to find out who was providing information to reporters, and private investigators tried to put tracking software on a journalist’s computer to keep tabs on e-mail.
Sep 19, 2006 | HP turns over thousands of documents to House panel
Hewlett-Packard (HP) has turned over thousands of documents to a U.S. House subcommittee investigating methods the company used to find out who was leaking company information to the media.
Sep 19, 2006 | HP pledges to connect better with customers
In a keynote address at the HP Technology Forum, which made only passing reference to the scandal that has rocked the company for the last two weeks, Hurd said “HP has made a lot of progress, but we’ve got a lot more to do.”
Sep 20, 2006 | HP’s Dunn to testify before House on scandal
Hewlett-Packard Chairwoman Patricia Dunn will answer questions during a House committee hearing on Capitol Hill on the spying scandal that has embroiled her company.
Sep 20, 2006 | HP probe expanded by House panel
A U.S. government panel has asked a corporate ethics lawyer from Hewlett-Packard (HP) to testify in its Sept. 28 hearing on the company’s use of “pretexting” to spy on journalists, board members and other employees.
Sep 21, 2006 | Report: HP CEO Hurd knew of planned deception
Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Hurd knew of plans for a disinformation campaign designed to find the source of leaks from boardroom discussions, The Washington Post reported.
Sep 21, 2006 | HP CEO Hurd to share leak probe analysis
In one of his first public acts to address the burgeoning Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) spy scandal, Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd plans to brief reporters about the findings of an analysis conducted by the company’s law firm.
Sep 21, 2006 | HP Chair Dunn to ‘set record straight’
Embattled Hewlett-Packard chairman Patricia Dunn told an appreciative audience in San Francisco that she looks forward to the opportunity to “set the record straight” regarding allegations that she oversaw an internal investigation of the company which may have broken the law.
Sep 22, 2006 | Calif. AG: No evidence yet to charge HP CEO Hurd
A spokesman from the California attorney general’s office Friday said that Attorney General Bill Lockyer at this point does not have any evidence to charge Hewlett-Packard (HP) Chief Executive Officer and President Mark Hurd with a criminal offense in the ongoing investigation into HP’s probe of journalists and board members.
Sep 22, 2006 | HP investigation broadened by SEC
The SEC has asked for more information on the circumstances surrounding Thomas Perkins’ resignation from HP’s board of directors over the spying scandal.
Sep 23, 2006 | HP CEO apologizes; Dunn out as Chairman
The ever-uglier Hewlett-Packard saga continued on Friday when CEO Mark Hurd held a press conference to apologize for what he called “instances of impropriety” in the handling of an investigation over information leaks from the company’s board of directors. Hurd will also take on the additional role of board chairman in addition to CEO and president, replacing Former Chairman Patricia Dunn, who has carried a central role in the ongoing, embarrassing situation.
Sep 26, 2006 | HP lawyer breaks down leak probe
An attorney hired by Hewlett-Packard Co. to investigate the conduct of HP and outside investigators has provided new details of his firm’s investigation of news leaks from the HP board.
Sep 26, 2006 | HP staffer resigns after receiving subpoena
Hewlett-Packard (HP) Global Security Manager Anthony Gentilucci, one of a handful people involved in the ongoing scandal over investigations into media leaks at the computer giant, tendered his resignation just hours after he and two others were subpoenaed by federal authorities.
Sep 27, 2006 | House issues 5 more subpoenas in HP probe
The five newly subpoenaed individuals are thought to be subcontractors for Action Research Group, a Florida-based data broker employed by HP to find telephone records and electronic communications of board members, employees and journalists.
Sep 28, 2006 | Baskins pleads 5th as politicos blast HP
U.S. legislators signaled that they will hold Hewlett-Packard’s (HP’s) feet to the fire during House testimony on the company’s pretexting scandal, while former General Counsel Ann Baskins formally declined to answer any questions by invoking her Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination.
Sep 28, 2006 | HP CEO Hurd describes ‘rogue’ probe
Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Hurd blamed the scandal that has besieged his company on “a rogue investigation” that got out of hand, in an advance copy of his congressional testimony released by a House subcommittee.
Sep 28, 2006 | HP General Counsel Ann Baskins quits
Another top Hewlett-Packard executive will leave the company, with HP’s announcement that its general counsel, Ann Baskins, resigned, effective immediately.
Sep 29, 2006 | Verizon files suit against HP ‘pretexters’
Verizon Wireless has sued Hewlett-Packard’s (HP’s) private investigators for faking their identities to obtain other people’s phone records, a practice known as “pretexting.”
Sep 29, 2006 | Pretexting legislation may move ahead in Congress
Legislation that would allow the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to seek civil penalties against businesses that obtain personal data under false pretenses may soon get a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Sep 29, 2006 | HP’s Hurd, Dunn grilled by lawmakers
Former Hewlett-Packard (HP) Chairwoman Patricia Dunn was assured that methods used by investigators to find the source of leaks from the company’s board of directors were legal, she told a U.S. Congress subcommittee.
Oct 03, 2006 | Corporate leak probes tread fine line
In one telling moment during the congressional hearings on the Hewlett-Packard board scandal, ousted Chairwoman Patricia Dunn offered the “everybody does it” defense.
Oct 04, 2006 | HP scandal: Dunn, others to be charged in Calif.
Patricia Dunn, former chairwoman at computer bigwig Hewlett-Packard (HP), will face felony charges, along with four other individuals, in relation to the company’s controversial investigation into the source of sensitive company information leaked to media outlets.
Oct 05, 2006 | HP scandal: Dunn, 4 others charged in Calif.
Ousted Hewlett-Packard (HP) Chairwoman Patricia Dunn, a former company lawyer and three outside investigators were charged with committing felonies when they conducted an investigation to track down news leaks from the HP board.
Oct 09, 2006 | HP e-mail tracer commonly used
The technology tool the company used, called a Web bug, is designed to allow e-mail senders to track the path a message takes, including whether a recipient opens the message and forwards it to another party. And it turns out the technology is widely used in e-mail newsletters to track readers and also by law enforcement in investigations.
Oct 09, 2006 | HP scandal: Dunn, Fiorina blame Perkins for downfall
Former Hewlett-Packard Chairwomen Patricia Dunn and Carly Fiorina each cited board member Thomas Perkins as an instigator behind their ousters from the technology company, according to interviews the two gave on a U.S. TV news program.
Nov 02, 2006 | HP CEO Mark Hurd claims poor recollection of internal meeting on pretexting
HP released Hurd’s answers to questions from a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee investigating HP’s potentially illegal use of false pretenses to get access to phone records of HP employees, board members and journalists. The subcommittee’s questions concerned a July 22, 2005, meeting of HP officials and private investigators at which Hurd was told that the probe focused on “obtaining phone record information off the Web.”
Nov 15, 2006 | Former HP chairwoman Dunn pleads not guilty in spying case
Dunn resigned in September and later went on to testify before Congress about her role in the scandal. The former chairwoman has said that in retrospect she wishes the probe had been conducted differently, but has never accepted personal responsibility for the unethical methods employed
Dec 01, 2006 | Suit filed against HP adds insider trading accusations
The new legal action, filed in Santa Clara, Calif., Superior Court, adds to existing claims that HP executives failed to uphold their financial responsibilities and significantly hurt the firm
Dec 08, 2006 | HP pays $14.5M to settle civil suit over spying
Under terms of the settlement with the California attorney general, HP will pay $13.5 million 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.
Dec 11, 2006 | ‘Pretexting’ phone records bill passed by Congress
The U.S. Congress has wrapped up its work for the year by passing a bill that would make it illegal to obtain a person’s phone records without permission.
Dec 14, 2006 | HP’s Hurd grilled by Congress over stock sale
Two U.S. congressmen have asked Hewlett-Packard (HP) Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd to explain why he sold US$1.37 million worth of HP stock just before the company’s spying scandal became public.
Jan 12, 2007 | HP spying case: Investigator to plead guilty, reports say
A private investigator charged in connection with the Hewlett-Packard (HP) pretexting case is expected to plead guilty to a charge of impersonating a journalist in order to obtain that reporter’s phone records from a telephone company.
Jan 19, 2007 | Calif. offers plea deals to Dunn, former HP execs
The California attorney general offers to drop felony charges against the four remaining defendants charged in the Hewlett-Packard spying case if they plead guilty to one misdemeanor each, according to published reports.
Feb 08, 2007 | HP names Mike Holston as general counsel
HP appoints as its new general counsel the lawyer it hired in 2006 to conduct an independent investigation into the spying scandal at the company. Mike Holston, a partner at Morgan, Lewis and Bockius, succeeds Ann Baskins, who resigned in September.
Feb 16, 2007 | U.S. FTC to court: Crack down on pretexters
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission asked a federal court to make two Florida companies stop telephone pretexting and pay back victims of the practice. One of the companies, Action Research Group, was linked in press reports to the Hewlett-Packard pretexting scandal.
