To print: Click here or Select File and then Print from your browser's menu

This story was printed from silicon.com, located at http://www.silicon.com/

Story URL: http://management.silicon.com/government/0,39024677,39162841,00.htm

Verizon sues data brokers over HP leak probe
But just who are they?

By Reuters

Published: Friday 29 September 2006

Verizon Wireless has sued 20 unnamed data brokers for fraudulently obtaining private telephone records belonging to HP board members and journalists as part of an HP investigation into boardroom leaks.

The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Trenton, New Jersey on the same day current and former HP executives were questioned by a congressional committee about the techniques used in the investigation.

Verizon is the number two wireless company in the US. It said a total of 20 individuals engaged as data brokers were hired directly or indirectly by HP to investigate leaks of confidential information from the company's board of directors to the news media.

The president and vice chairman of Verizon, Larry Babbio, is also a member of the HP board of directors. The lawsuit did not indicate if his call records were among those accessed by the data brokers.

Verizon said in documents filed with the court: "Despite the precautions taken by Verizon Wireless to preserve the confidentiality of its customers' information, defendants used fraud, trickery and deceit to access confidential customer information."

The data brokers tricked Verizon customer service employees into giving them the telephone call records of HP board members, employees and journalists, a practice known as "pretexting". They may also have used customer information to access the Verizon computer system that stores customer account information, the lawsuit said.

Verizon said it had spent more than $100,000 to investigate the fraud. It said it was unable to identify the defendants by name, calling them Jane and John Does I to XX.

The lawsuit asked the court to immediately stop the data brokers from pretexting and to pay unspecified damages to Verizon.

Congress is trying to pass legislation that would make it illegal to impersonate a person to obtain or sell telephone records but it has been stalled in the House of Representatives and Senate.