H-P chair resigns, CEO apologizes to journalists

Hewlett-Packard Co. chairwoman Patricia Dunn resigned, effectively immediately, from her position on the board, and CEO Mark Hurd apologized to reporters who were targeted by the company in an investigation to determine who had leaked information about the computer maker to business journalists.

In a press conference Friday afternoon, Hurd called the tactics used by investigators hired by the company “very disturbing.” The included obtaining phone records of journalists. In addition, the company considered planting spies inside newsrooms in the form of janitorial workers and giving some journalists false information.

AP reporter Jordan Robertson wrote that Hurd stated, “I extend my sincerest apologies to those journalists who were investigated and to everyone who was impacted,” his first news conference since the scandal erupted Sept. 6.

Read more here.

Tom Sanders of VNUnet.com, who filed from the conference, wrote, “Hurd admitted that he failed to properly monitor the investigation. He said that he received a copy of the report which disclosed that pretexting techniques had been used, but said that he didn’t read it.

“‘I understand that there was also a written report into the investigation addressed at me as well as others, but I did not read it. I could have and I should have,’ Hurd said.

“‘Some of the findings that [law firm] Morgan Lewis has uncovered are very disturbing to me.”

Read more of Sanders’ coverage here. You can actually watch the news conference here.