ETHICS CASE STUDY:

HEWLETT-PACKARD SPY SCANDAL

A CASE RELATED TO CORPORATE SPY WORK

CORPORATE SPY WORK
Dates back to 6th century.
Unethical and illegal method of collecting
information related to-
* Corporate strategies.
* New product development/launch
plans.
* Target markets.
* Customer and supplier plans.
* Merger and acquisition plans.
* Pricing, advertising, packaging etc.
CORPORATE SPY WORK
Agents do not abide by any legal or
ethical guidelines , & do anything to
get competitive information.

It includes dumpster diving, social

engineering, interviewing
disgruntled employees, bugging
offices , hacking computer systems
and telephone lines.
 COMPANY PROFILE

Type : Public
Founder(s): Bill Hewlett & David Packard
Headquarters: Palo Alto, CA, United States
Area served: Worldwide
Largest technology company in the world
Industry: Computer Systems, Computer
Peripherals, Computer Software, Consulting IT
Services
 COMPANY PROFILE
Products: Computer Monitors, Digital
Cameras, Indigo Digital Press, Networking,
Personal Computers and Laptops, Personal
Digital Assistants, Printers, Scanners, Servers,
Storage Televisions.
 COMPANY PROFILE

Operating income: US$ 10.473 billion

(2008)
Revenue: US$ 118.364 billion (2008)
Net income: US$ 10.473 billion (2008)
Total assets: US$ 113.331 billion
(2008)
Total equity: US$ 38.942 billion
(2008)
Employees: 321,000 (2008)
 REAL STORY

PERSONS INVOLVED
1. Patricia Dunn, Chairwoman, HP.
2. George Keyworth, Board Member.
3. Ann Baskins, Head Attorney.
REAL STORY

BACKGROUND

HP found that some of its highly

confidential data regarding HPs
long term strategy leaked during
January, 2006.
REAL STORY
On September 5, 2006,
Newsweek published a story.

Chairwoman of HP, Patricia Dunn,

has hired a team of independent
electronic-security experts who
spied on HP board members and
several journalists, to determine
the source of a leak of confidential
details regarding HP's long-term
strategy in January, 2006.
REAL STORY
TECHNIQUES USED BY
SECURITY EXPERTS:
1. Pre-texting to obtain call
records of HP board members and
nine journalists, including reporters
for CNET, the New York Times and
the Wall Street Journal.
2. Investigators dressed as
cleaners and entered inside the
San Francisco offices of The Wall
Street Journal and CNET.
REAL STORY
RESULT OF SPYING:
ADVANTAGE:
Board member George Keyworth
was found guilty for leakage of
confidential data.
On September 12, 2006 Keyworth
resigned from the board .
REAL STORY
RESULT OF SPYING:
DISADVANTAGE:
On September 22, 2006,Dunn was forced
to resign.
On September 28, 2006, Ann Baskins, HP's
general counsel (head attorney) resigned
hours before she was to appear as a
witness for the case.
Faced investigation by the government
On December 7, 2006 hp paid $14.5
Million to settle civil charges brought by
the California Attorney General.
REAL STORY

UNETHICAL METHODS
USED.
Lies
Fraud
Trapping of private telephone
lines
Misrepresentation
REAL STORY

RIGHTS VIOLATED
Right to privacy.
Right to free speech.
Right to private property.
Right to confidentiality.
HOW TO SAVE DATA IN IT
COMPANIES?
1. Never expose your
internal network to outsiders
2. Make sure all storage
areas are secure
3. Ensure that data at rest is
properly protected
HOW TO SAVE DATA IN IT
COMPANIES?
4. Protect against data
deletion and data loss
5. Protection from data
tampering
6. Regular auditing,
random and regular
monitoring
THANK
YOU