Scandal

College student at center of Palin hack chatter

Judi Hasson — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 13:58:19 -0400

A Tennessee legislator has acknowledged that his son, a 20-year old college student at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, has been cited on blogs and message boards in connection with the hacking of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's email account. Democratic State Rep. Mike Kernell told the Tennessean newspaper that his son, David Kernell, is at the center of speculation about the identity of the hacker who gained access to the Republican vice presidential candidate's email account.

An individual identified only as "rubico" last week posted a message to 4chan.org's popular /b/ board claiming to have gained access to Palin's e-mail by using Yahoo's password reset feature. The rubico handle on 4chan.org was later linked to the email address "rubico10@yahoo.com," which was in turn linked to David Kernell through Internet searches. Both the FBI and Secret Service have opened investigations. Palin shut down her Yahoo account, which included emails regarding state business.

For more on the Palin email scandal:
- see this ComputerWorld.com article

HP settles privacy case

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 06:59:59 -0500

In 2006, HP disclosed that misconduct by private investigators and company employees occurred during an attempt to identify the source of a boardroom leak. Now company officials, hoping to put the scandal behind them, have reached a settlement with The New York Times and three Business Week reporters. "What HP did was an affront to the free press," Terry Gross, the San Francisco lawyer representing the parties told The New York Times. "They did not like what reporters were writing, and they broke into their private telephone accounts to identify who their sources were," he said. HP said in a written statement that it is "happy to resolve the matter." But the company still faces lawsuits filed by three CNET reporters and an Associated Press journalist.

For more on the settlement of the spy case:
- See this Vnunet article

IBM and PWC settle federal kickback suit for $5.3M

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 06:59:59 -0400

After three years of litigation, IBM and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) separately paid fines that added up to $5.3 million, in order to settle a broader set of DOJ lawsuits stemming from multiple whistle-blower allegations that systems integrators (like PWC) have been inappropriately diverting contracts to technology vendors (like IBM). But wait a minute…aren't IBM and PWC one and the same company? Didn't Big Blue buy the consulting arm of the venerable accounting firm in 2002 to strengthen the IBM Global Services presence and to create the type of "synergy" that would optimize the technology group's visibility, insight and access to clients, especially in the lucrative and recession-proof federal IT market? The answer, of course, is yes, so it should not come as a surprise that there are some intimate linkages among the parties concerned. Nevertheless, PWC-turned-IBM Global Services consultants are not supposed to cherry pick technology providers when they are ostensibly offering clients independent advice on how to build next generation IT infrastructures. But it is a complicated situation for all concerned. And the confusion is rooted in the fact that all large vendors view systems integrators as a channel into the federal IT sector. There are all kinds of alliances (most of them well documented and promoted) among systems integrators and technology providers who serve government agencies. If the government is going to outsource the management of these complex technology programs, then it must be aware that it is dealing with a web of business relationships that are already established in the market. Beyond IBM/PWC, the broader DOJ suit targets Accenture, HP and Sun. In settling, IBM denies any wrong-doing.

Read coverage of the IBM/PWC development:
- see the article Computerworld

Pretexting bill in Senate's hands

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 19:01:36 -0500

In the wake of the HP spying scandal, in which executives may still face criminal charges, the U.S. Senate is preparing to formally make pretexting an illegal activity. It's a legislative move that's been pending since the spring when the House of Representatives voted unanimously on a bill that would make pretexting a crime with a possible prison sentence of 10 years.

For more on the new spying law:
- read the news at News.com

ALSO NOTED: The top IT turkeys of 2006; IBM releases new security application for SMBs; and much more...

Sun, 19 Nov 2006 19:01:33 -0500

> The top IT turkeys of 2006. Article

> IBM releases new security application for SMBs. Article

> The real reason why Microsoft made a deal with Novell. Article

> IT talent shortfall predicted to hurt UK economy. Article

> Despite its recent boardroom scandal, HP's profits are up. Article

And Finally... Clothing lets air guitarists play. Article

Tools for fighting rootkits

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 19:01:38 -0500

Remember that whole Sony rootkit scandal? The company was selling CDs with hidden rootkit software. Well, the man who discovered that copy protection strategy, which became a tool for hackers looking to hide malicious code, is now on Microsoft's payroll and played a big part in a new Windows system tool that can help fight hackers.

For more on the new anti-hacking tool set:
- read the article at Security.itworld

Related Articles:
How to destroy nasty rootkits. Report
Rootkits demand greater security attention. Report

HP's switch strategy paying off

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 19:01:36 -0500

Think 'HP' and most likely the board spying scandal, or Carly Fiorina's memoir comes to mind. It's not likely that you start thinking about how far the vendor has come in the LAN switch industry. It's now second only to Cisco, leaving more than a few hefty competitors in the dust. As John McHugh, VP and GM of ProCurve Networking for HP, explains it's been about being committed to open-market competitive standards.

For more on HP's switch strategy:
- read the interview at NetworkWorld

ALSO NOTED: Microsoft security czar moves into new Windows system role; Learning from scandal and getting a grip on messaging;

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 20:01:33 -0400

> Microsoft security czar moves into new Windows system role. Article

> Learning from scandal and getting a grip on messaging. Article

> Why there is value in the loss of a talented employee. Article

> iPod users beware--there's a worm on the loose. Article

> 10 tips for good data backup. Article

> Feds not giving up on getting user site activity info from ISPs. Article

And Finally... An amphibious auto is coming to market. Article

SPOTLIGHT: Fiorina speaks out on ouster, privacy issues

Thu, 12 Oct 2006 20:01:34 -0400

Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of HP, couldn't have asked for a better time frame in pushing her new book onto the shelves particularly given the recent HP scandal and indictments. In a wide ranging interview she talks about her own ouster from the company, the issue of privacy and pretexting and what she think HP's new CEO, Mark Hurd, needs to do to get HP back on track. Article

HP scandal likely a common scenario

Sun, 08 Oct 2006 20:01:39 -0400

While the HP scandal is still in full throttle, with recent indictments and its former chairwoman going national on 60 Minutes this past weekend to tell her side of the story, the big news may be that many companies handle confidential investigations in a similar fashion. As one legal expert notes, today's companies should be worried if there's a similar scenario happening within their own businesses and should be investigating exactly how their subcontractors approach data collection and investigative tactics. New federal laws, such as Sarbanes-Oxley, have only prompted more internal investigations in the effort to meet regulatory mandates on providing corporate financial data and accounting processes.

For more on the need to assess investigative strategies:
- check out the TechWeb article