The wrong way to handle negative press

Tension Escalates Over HP Scandal

Hewlett-Packard Co.'s board of directors yesterday called an emergency meeting for Sunday as a scandal involving spying on board members and journalists escalated and prompted Chairman Patricia C. Dunn to say she would step down if asked.

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, meanwhile, said the case was wider than previously reported and hinted it that it could go grow beyond the Silicon Valley technology pioneer. In an interview yesterday, Lockyer said the investigation stretches back to 2005 and involves an internal investigation that HP conducted of leaks to the media.

Lockyer is conducting a criminal investigation of how contractors hired by HP obtained personal records by posing as someone else, a practice known as "pretexting," to determine who leaked confidential company information to the media.

She hired professional phishers to deal with a leak???????????

Jeffrey Treem sums it up best.