HP spying, round 3 (and a pirate Max Headroom)

Hold that pose! It's IT Blogwatch, in which the HP spying scandal plumbs new depths of corporate paranoia and weirdness. Not to mention a classic TV moment, involving an unofficial Max Headroom elbowing aside Dr. Who in Chicago ...

Where will it end? Just when everyone thought that the HP spying scandal couldn't get any worse, it does, with major news U.S. outlets digging up more incriminating documents. The Washington Post:

The Hewlett-Packard Co. spying effort that has sparked criminal investigations was wide-ranging and included physical surveillance, photographs and spyware sent via e-mail, and it also targeted wives and other relatives of HP board members and reporters, according to a consultant's report prepared for the company.

The Feb. 10 report, obtained by The Washington Post, summarized in eight pages how investigators, to identify an internal leak of confidential HP information, surreptitiously followed HP board member George A. Keyworth II while he was giving a lecture at the University of Colorado. They watched his home in Piedmont, Calif. They used photographs of a reporter to see if the reporter met with him. And they tried to recover a laptop computer stolen from him in Italy so they could analyze its contents.

The report, prepared by a consulting firm in Needham, Mass., hired to investigate leaks to the media, was sent to four HP executives, including HP's ethics director. That suggests that senior HP employees were aware of the spying tactics used as early as February.

Techdirt: But wait -- there's more!:

Today, the New York Times cites internal documents indicating that HP explored aggressive spying measures such as infiltrating the clerical or janitorial staffs of CNET and the Wall Street Journal. It's not clear, yet, that the company engaged in such activity, but it indicates a willingness to pursue a wide variety of fraud in order to plug some relatively minor leaks. Not to be outdone by the Times, the Wall Street Journal has obtained its own internal documents that dispute the assertion that Chairman Patricia Dunn stood at arms' length from the investigation, and didn't know the tactics being used. In fact, both Dunn and the company's General Counsel Ann Baskins worked closely with the investigation and knew of its tactics, according to internal emails. If there's a smoking gun, from a legal perspective, these emails could be it.

Thought Crimes is incredulous:

All of this begs the question as to who the hell these people think they are? It also demonstrates the urgent need for stringent privacy protection laws.

Dan Gillmor: Where's the investor outrage?

Why are investors so blase about this? Because they know that our legal system doesn't have the tools to punish such behavior in a way that really means something?

J. LeRoy: Ethics, Shmethics:

Clearly, this was a program that had gone out of control. I don't think that many (certainly some) people at HP were deliberately being evil. But also clearly this will damage their credibility.

From the standpoint of community, we see here that in large institutions actions gather inertia and can go awry in a very bad way. Whether it's a leak investigation at HP, covering up abuse at Wal*Mart or putting FEMA in an organization obsessed with foreign terrorists. In the beginning, each of these things may have seemed like a good idea - but groupthink gives them a purpose beyond reason to often disastrous results.

The news prompts Gearlog to put together a quick-and-dirty corporate spying buyer's guide:

If your directive explicitly states infiltrating a team of dorito-munching, cola-swilling programmers, the Camera 35mm Can-Shaped is a perfect gadget to bring along. It looks like a can of Coke, but just "take a sip and snap" as the product description says, and you're well on your way to your very own Watergate.

We're not sure if HP's "feasibility studies" were by-the-book, but if they were, they may have been based on the International Spy Museum Handbook for Practical Spying. If we wanted to, say, infiltrate our brethren at Engadget, we'd start by studying this book (and we'd study it while playing appropriate music, of course).

Every spy needs their very own Spy Video Car. Why? Because it's great for hiding a camera inside, and then you can see the images it takes through a private LCD screen built into your headset. But what if you prefer spying at night? Then the car's infrared night-vision system will make your mission possible.

But if a video car just doesn't suit your spying needs, try this Spy Plane instead to capture aerial shots. This remote control plane can snap up to 26 digital photos at a resolution of 72 dpi. And it can reach heights of 1,000 feet! In case, well, your enemies are super tall. Then remove the camera from the plane to download your photos to your laptop or PC.

And every professional spy needs a watchdog. The Sony AIBO has a camera and can walk under the corporate boardroom table virtually unnoticed. No longer in production, but available on eBay.

Dominic Jones: Seriously, HP claimed it was committed to privacy:

I love the irony of these things. While looking into the background on this story saying half of directors say they've been subjected to "aggressive" surveillance from companies whose boards they serve on, I found a news release (caution: stupid PDF document) from March 7, 2006:

TRUSTe and PONEMON INSTITUTE ANNOUNCE THE MOST TRUSTED COMPANIES FOR PRIVACY AWARD 2006

“The Most Trusted Company for Privacy Award illustrates the heart of TRUSTe’s mission. It celebrates the brands that respect people’s privacy, encourages a safer digital marketplace and helps Internet users understand privacy issues,” said Fran Maier, president and executive director of TRUSTe. “These three companies are trusted by consumers and experts alike. They are different in size and scope, helping to prove that security concerns aren’t limited to certain industries or giant conglomerates, but apply to everyone.”

One of the three companies recognized for respecting people's privacy was HP. Later in the same release we get this gem from an HP staffer:

“HP believes the protection of privacy is a fundamental measure of HP’s integrity, both as a business and a global citizen. We support that belief with a global, company-wide privacy organization to ensure our policies are enforced,” said David Lear, vice president, Corporate, Social and Environmental Responsibility, HP. “Keeping up world-class privacy standards is a matter of constant diligence. We hope to lead by example and help create a safer Internet. TRUSTe is helping to raise these issues in a positive way through these recognition programs.”

You can't make this stuff up.

Buffer overflow:

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And finally... A bizarre TV moment - Max Headroom's evil twin surfaces on Chicago airwaves

Computerworld's Senior Online Projects Editor Ian Lamont compiled IT Blogwatch today. Next Monday, regular Blogwatcher Richi Jennings will return.