Monitoring an surveillance – lessons from America

The fallout from the Hewlett Packard internal investigation in the US has focussed attention on the extent to which employers can use interception techniques to uncover evidence of wrongdoing. Dorian Drew and Adam Vause of Norton Rose consider the complex position in the UK and offer some practical guidance.

Dorian Drew (+44 (0)20 7444 2284; dorian.drew@nortonrose.com) is a Senior Associate in Norton Rose’s Financial Services Group and Adam Vause (+44 (0)20 7444 3863; adam.vause@nortonrose.com) is a Senior Associate in Norton Rose’s Fraud Group.

In early 2005, Hewlett Packard initiated an internal investigation in the US into leaks to the press of confidential information. It is alleged that investigators, acting on Hewlett Packard’s behalf, used various techniques, including “pretexting” (pretending to be someone else in order to obtain information) in order to obtain confidential, personal telephone and fax records belonging to various Hewlett Packard directors and employees, journalists and others. The fallout of the investigation has resulted in the resignation of Hewlett Packard’s chairwoman (Patricia Dunn) and several other directors and employees, and a hearing before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce. It has also resulted in criminal charges being brought by the Attorney General of California against Ms Dunn, a senior Hewlett Packard in-house lawyer, and three outside consultants (one employee of a firm of private investigators and two employees of a firm of information brokers). A conviction can lead to a maximum prison sentence of three years and a fine of US$10,000.