Ex-boss to face criminal charges in HP spying case

PATRICIA DUNN, the former chairwoman of computer giant Hewlett-Packard, was today facing criminal charges in connection with a corporate spying scandal into boardroom leaks.

Four others, including ex-HP ethics officer Kevin Hunsaker and three private investigators, are also facing charges including conspiracy, identity theft, and unauthorised access to computer data.

Ms Dunn resigned last month after it was revealed she had launched an internal probe to uncover which employee or employees had leaked confidential reports to the press.

As part of that cloak and dagger probe, private investigators managed to get hold of the phone records and other data of journalists and HP employees, including directors, without their permission.

Because of that, charges have also been brought by California's chief attorney Bill Lockyer of using fraudulent pretences to secure confidential information from a public utility.

The practice, known as "pretexting", is often used by private investigators. But prosecutors believe the HP investigation violated laws covering identity theft and unauthorised access to computer data.

Mr Lockyer said: "In this misguided effort, people both inside and outside of HP violated privacy rights and broke state laws."

Ms Dunn has insisted she knew nothing about the investigators' tactics nor how far they would be prepared to go to get their information.