In Brief

The Security Blotter

Breaches, scams and other recent incidents of note

By Michael Goldberg

November 01, 2006 — CSO —

Schools on alert after three deadly shootings. The shootings spurred President Bush to convene a conference on school safety and security on Oct. 10. The victims included five girls at an Amish community school in Nickel Mines, Pa.; a female high school student in Bailey, Colo.; and a middle school principal in Cazenovia, Wis. In the Colorado and Pennsylvania incidents, the adult male shooters killed themselves. In Wisconsin, a 15-year-old boy was arrested, The Associated Press reported.

California charges five in HP spying scandal. The California attorney general charged five people, including Hewlett-Packard's ex-chairwoman Patricia Dunn, with crimes related to the company's investigation of news leaks from the board of directors. The four felony charges relate to the practice of "pretexting," the alleged use of false pretenses to access individuals' phone records. The charges include fraudulent wire communications, the wrongful use of computer data and identity theft. Dunn, who is due in court on Nov. 17, professed her innocence in a televised interview on 60 Minutes. Three investigators charged in the case pleaded innocent in court on Oct. 10. HP's former ethics counsel is due to appear in court on Dec. 6.

Stock options probe leads to McAfee shake-up. McAfee, the antivirus and security software vendor, said accounting problems related to a stock options inquiry would force the company to restate financial results for the past 10 years. The company fired President Kevin Weiss as a result on Oct. 11 and said chairman and CEO George Samenuk would retire, The Associated Press reported. Former Borland Software CEO Dale Fuller was named interim CEO. McAfee is the latest in a series of companies examining the practices they used to date potentially lucrative stock options.

House leadership entangled in pre-election scandal. The political fallout from revelations that Rep. Mark Foley, a Florida Republican, sent sexually explicit instant messages to male House pages continued for weeks after Foley's Sept. 29 resignation. The scandal spilled into some House candidates' advertising strategies and resulted in some calls for House leaders to step down, The New York Times reported. On Oct. 9, House Speaker Dennis Hastert called a press conference to say he would fire any aides who covered up their knowledge of Foley's behavior, the Times said.

Hazardous waste plant fire evacuates region near Raleigh, N.C. Authorities on Oct. 6 urged 17,000 people to flee their homes due to a hazardous waste plant fire and chlorine cloud at the plant in Apex, N.C., The Associated Press reported. Area schools and downtown Apex were closed. No employees at the plant run by EQ Industrial Services were reported injured, but officials said 41 people went to hospitals with complaints of breathing problems, the AP reported. The town's mayor said state officials believed rains that fell on the chlorine plume were helping scrub the air. Residents were able to return two days later.