HP allegedly
wanted to 'place' personnel into the offices of media companies to spy on staff,
according to the latest reports from the
ongoing corporate
investigation.
The
New York
Times claims to have seen a memo suggesting that 'cleaners' or 'secretaries'
be placed in the offices of
The
Wall Street Journal and
CNET.
The document came from a senior manager at HP and used the subtitle 'Covert
Operations'.
"Feasibility studies are in progress for undercover operations (clerical) in
CNET and Wall Street Journal offices in San Francisco bureaus," the
memo is alleged to have said.
However, it is not known whether the plans were put into action or whether
any 'cleaners' or 'secretaries' were hired.
CNET also alleged that the phone records of two of its reporters were broken
into by HP, as the technology firm tried to discover who had been leaking
boardroom information to its journalists.
"All I will say about the maelstrom is that I look forward eagerly, in the
near future, to setting the record straight and going back to leading my life as
discreetly as possible," HP chairwoman Patricia Dunn said during an acceptance
speech as she was inducted into the
Hall
of Fame of the Bay Area Council yesterday.
"And in the meantime, it wouldn't hurt if the Pope continued to make
controversial
comments to grab the attention of the press."
Reports also suggest that
California
Attorney General Bill Lockyer will take the criminal investigation into
corporate spying as far back as 2005, which predates the current allegations.
HP hired private investigators in March 2005 who broke into staff and
journalist phone records to try and find the source of the leaks.
Former HP chairman
Carly Fiorina was
ousted from the firm during that time and HP would only state that Fiorina and
the board had "differences".
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