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Verizon Staff Accessed Obama Mobile Phone Data, Become Ex-Verizon Staff
Posted by Elaine Chow at 3:30 PM on November 21, 2008
Several Verizon Wireless employees stumbled upon the Pandora's Box of personal mobile phone accounts, that of President-Elect Barack Obama, and couldn't help sneaking a peek. Luckily, the account was old and out-of-use, there's no indication that email records, voicemails or call contents were monitored, and at the very most the employees only got to see billing records, according to Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam. Oh yeah, and the employees are now fired.
PERSONAL CELL PHONE ACCOUNT OF PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA ACCESSED BY UNAUTHORIZED EMPLOYEES
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - Verizon Wireless President and CEO Lowell McAdam made the following statement today:
"This week we learned that a number of Verizon Wireless employees have, without authorization, accessed and viewed President-Elect Barack Obama's personal cell phone account. The account has been inactive for several months. The device on the account was a simple voice flip-phone, not a BlackBerry or other smartphone designed for e-mail or other data services.
"All employees who have accessed the account - whether authorised or not - have been put on immediate leave, with pay. As the circumstances of each individual employee's access to the account are determined, the company will take appropriate actions. Employees with legitimate business needs for access will be returned to their positions, while employees who have accessed the account improperly and without legitimate business justification will face appropriate disciplinary action.
We apologise to President-Elect Obama and will work to keep the trust our customers place in us every day."
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
.endejas.
Posted 6:06 PM 21/11/08
Great headline. Great tag.
Great job.
.endejas.
hiimcliff
Posted 5:57 PM 21/11/08
@taiter: There was an article on digg a while back that was about a guy who played hooky from work and got busted from his facebook status and pics.
awesome way to get fired
hiimcliff
AJ_Syrinx
Posted 5:57 PM 21/11/08
I love it how the CEO of the company is the one making the statement just for grandstanding purposes.
AJ_Syrinx
hhumbert
Posted 5:56 PM 21/11/08
Nah, I don't think BO is vindictive like that. Who wouldn't check if the old BO was on your customer list? And if so, who wouldn't get a voyeuristic joy by looking at the account details? Well, anyone who doesn't want to get fired is the answer.
I think Verizon took appropriate action, but frankly, BO and his team know that cell records are not as private as we'd want, and neither is wireless email. Thus, the policy that dictates that Mr. Obama will not have blackberry access while President, even though he was tethered to it before.
hhumbert
hiimcliff
Posted 5:56 PM 21/11/08
@l337virus: ...and soon by the secret service. Those guys are going to be in a world of paranoia very soon if not already.
hiimcliff
I'm a PC
Posted 5:38 PM 21/11/08
@justinleon: lol i can see that happening
I'm a PC
justinleon
Posted 5:36 PM 21/11/08
Watch the Obama administration give Verizon hell in the form of "special" legislation
justinleon
taiter
Posted 5:08 PM 21/11/08
I agree. perhaps user submissions are in order. It is that time of the year: no xmas bonus = find great ways to f*ck your boss before getting escorted off the premises.
|
| This wierdness was on here twhen I logged in...
V
@Zlevee:
taiter
FatTony925
Posted 4:54 PM 21/11/08
The grass is always greener on the other side right??
FatTony925
purple-pillows
Posted 4:53 PM 21/11/08
so is what may cause obama to give up his blackberry... corporate america at its finest
purple-pillows
iAirmanshirk
Posted 4:47 PM 21/11/08
Obama is god :]
iAirmanshirk
ForrestWhitakersLazyEye
Posted 4:42 PM 21/11/08
Leave...with pay. WOOHOO VACATION
ForrestWhitakersLazyEye
Zlevee
Posted 4:34 PM 21/11/08
I'm looking forward to seeing the "ways to get fired" tag get filled up.
Zlevee
l337virus
Posted 4:32 PM 21/11/08
lol pwned by Obama
l337virus
sprockin
Posted 6:30 PM 21/11/08
so did they find out how much he pays for hookers ?
sprockin
spider2544
Posted 7:14 PM 21/11/08
oh dam no wonder they are going to ban him from his blackberry.
spider2544
diamonddnice
Posted 8:54 PM 21/11/08
I can only imagine him being all pissed off because he was just in the middle of trying to make his argument that keeping his blackberry would be no security issue.
Obama: "They got my what? Got Dammit!!!"
Secret Service Agent: "Hand over the Blackberry sir!"
Obama: "Fine Take it. Can I go now?"
Secret Service Agent: "Sir? And the Iphone hidden in your back pocket?"
Obama: (Sighs) "Fine!!!
Secret Service Agent: "Eh...Mr. President? "And the backup G1 in the ankle holster!"
Obama: "Fuck ya'll! Someone's gettin' wacked for this! That's all i know!"
diamonddnice
markarian
Posted 8:43 PM 21/11/08
@hhumbert: Obama would probably just laugh it off. Bush would have the employees sent to Guantanamo.
markarian
OMG! Ponies!
Posted 10:31 PM 21/11/08
File this under "Supremely Stupid". Just don't do it.
As far as President-Elect Obama goes, I don't think people should question his judgment on the wackiness and drama of cabinet picks right now. His judgment so far has gotten him elected President (including garnering more than 40% of the vote in places like Texas and West Virginia).
Once he does something d'oh-worthy, that's when you start. But as for now, he's doing a pretty good job of proving that he's the smartest guy in the room.
OMG! Ponies!
feckineejit
Posted 12:36 AM 22/11/08
@sprockin:
YOUR MOM IS A HOOKERBOT.
feckineejit
Camaro02
Posted 12:30 AM 22/11/08
@ForrestWhitakersLazyEye: That is exactly what I thought. True, there is pending doom in the form of a lost job, but for those living in the now, a vacation seems more like a reward than a punishment.
Camaro02
ranum
Posted 12:50 AM 22/11/08
Oh, the outrage!
Meanwhile, the heads of six Ohio government departments that illegally accessed Joe the Plumber's records receive furious finger-shakings and the Democrat congressman's son who hacked Sarah Palin's email address is likely to get a stern taking to.
Oh, the humanity!
Oops... Sorry...
ummm.....
We're the change we are waiting for! (Everybody all together now...)
ranum
EVEs_Mako
Posted 12:43 AM 22/11/08
@sprockin: Don't go dissin my President, uh no no no natch.
EVEs_Mako
Null42
Posted 12:39 AM 22/11/08
@diamonddnice: Haha, I had to laugh at that. Kinda sucks that the "most powerful" man in the nation can't choose his own phone.
Null42
Curves
Posted 12:38 AM 22/11/08
I can think of many people who would be a lot more interesting to access the telephone records than Barry. A lot of them comment at Giz.
Curves
Red_Flag
Posted 1:20 AM 22/11/08
Another shining example of why the telcos should be held responsible for their illegal spying on American citizens. The only reason there was any kerfuffle is because this is the President-Elect. Anyone else and it would have been swept under the rug or offered to the Feds.
Red_Flag
Dirk
Posted 1:50 AM 22/11/08
I bet some new names just got added to the No Fly List. You don't mess around with the President (or President-Elect).
Dirk
Mikestan
Posted 1:44 AM 22/11/08
The Verizon employees should have used the FISA bill in their defense.
After all Prez Elect did vote for it.
Mikestan
Numerous
Posted 2:14 AM 22/11/08
He's got a little Captain in him.
Numerous
PerspectiveX
Posted 2:07 AM 22/11/08
"On leave with pay" is a far cry from "now fired". None of the Verizon employees are now ex-employees as the statement is clear about a pending review process to determine who did what and whether or not they were simply doing their job.
PerspectiveX
surfer88
Posted 2:34 AM 22/11/08
"He's got a little Captain in him." Best comment for this post.
surfer88
korybing
Posted 2:48 AM 22/11/08
@diamonddnice: I like the idea that Obama is smuggling multiple back-up smartphones.
korybing
Git Em SteveDave loves this guy->★
Posted 4:02 AM 22/11/08
@hiimcliff: Damn, I just realized you didn't say Hockey, but hooky. I'm an idiot.
Git Em SteveDave loves this guy->★
Git Em SteveDave loves this guy->★
Posted 4:01 AM 22/11/08
@hiimcliff: Was he playing on the roof?
Git Em SteveDave loves this guy->★
blackmage439
Posted 6:36 AM 22/11/08
@ForrestWhitakersLazyEye: Yeah, the statement says nothing about firings. At most, the CEO promises "disciplinary action."
*sigh* more gun-jumping, half-assed, poor writing, and ill-reporting by a Gawker blog.
blackmage439
shorty63136
Posted 6:30 AM 22/11/08
@ForrestWhitakersLazyEye: Exactly. Nowhere does it say "fired."
"Appropriate disciplinary action" - probably suspended for a couple days without pay.
shorty63136
docvb
Posted 7:36 AM 22/11/08
Hmmmm. Using cellphone. On a plane????
Mayday!Mayday! This is AirForce 1...we're going down.....danged electrical interference......
Or is it just an urban myth. Hmmmmmmm
docvb
diamonddnice
Posted 7:54 AM 22/11/08
@korybing: yep, like James Bond with a blackberry instead of a Walther PPK.
diamonddnice
diamonddnice
Posted 7:52 AM 22/11/08
@Null42: i always like the idea of the "most powerful man" having such power over armies and lives but the secret service control hella minutia about his life. And him basically being powerless about it.
diamonddnice
PlaneParts
Posted 1:07 PM 22/11/08
@purple-pillows: I've heard that it's his Presidential status that will require him to give up his Blackberry...some law about everything he puts in writing has to be available to the public and whatnot. The Bushwhacker had to stop emailing his buddies when he took over eight years ago. Maybe that will change with Obama, but it's doubtful.
PlaneParts
derekyap
Posted 5:07 PM 21/11/08
If Obama was God, he'd be gracious. Kinda dejavu of a little "Oops, I did it again"
quote President and CEO Lowell McAdam,
"... will face appropriate disciplinary action."
ouch.
derekyap
AlbernHapland
Posted 9:23 AM 26/11/08
@docvb: Time to call in the Myth Busters
AlbernHapland