Badges - Re: Fired Wal-Mart Security Technician Tells Of Spying Operation
- From: Bradley Swaffield <bswaffield@xxxxxxx>
- To: badges@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 9 May 2011 18:29:03 -0700 (PDT)
When I was aplain clothes detective armed at a large chain we were always going
after employees
Respectfully,
Bradley J. Swaffield
________________________________
From: "CarlGlas@xxxxxxxxxxx" <CarlGlas@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: badges@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Mon, May 9, 2011 9:26:40 PM
Subject: Badges - Fired Wal-Mart Security Technician Tells Of Spying Operation
Wal-Mart's security efforts were thrust into the spotlight when a
fired technician alleged he had been part of a large surveillance
operation that spied on company workers, critics, vendors and
consultants, reports the Associated Press.
The company has defended its security practices.
Wal-Mart has declined to comment on specific allegations made by
19-year veteran Bruce Gabbard to a Wall Street Journal article
published April 4. The company reiterated that it had fired Gabbard,
44, and his supervisor in March for violating company policy by
recording phone calls and intercepting pager messages.
"Like most major corporations, it is our corporate responsibility to
have systems in place, including software systems, to monitor threats
to our network, intellectual property, and our people," says Wal-Mart
spokeswoman Sarah Clark.
Gabbard was fired after recording phone calls to and from a New York
Times reporter and intercepting pager messages.
Wal-Mart made the case public last month and denied Gabbard's claims
that his actions were the result of pressure from Kenneth Senser, a
former senior CIA and FBI official who has headed Wal-Mart's office
of global security since 2003. Another FBI veteran, Joseph Lewis, is
head of corporate investigations under Senser.
Gabbard and his former supervisor, Jason Hamilton, who was also
fired, have declined repeated requests from the Associated Press to
talk about their security activities, according to the report.
However, in a text message to the Associated Press April 4, Gabbard
reiterated his allegation that he was part of a broader surveillance
operation approved by the company. The team, the Threat Research and
Analysis Group, was a unit of Wal-Mart's Information Systems Division.
Clark, says the company had reported the issue to federal prosecutors
to determine if any laws had been broken.
She adds that the Threat Research group is no longer operating in the
same manner that it did before the discovery of the unauthorized
recording of telephone conversations.
"There have been changes in leadership, and we have strengthened our
practices and protocols in this area," Clark says.
Wal-Mart's union-backed critics, whom Gabbard identified as among the
surveillance targets, accused the retailer of being "paranoid,
childish and desperate."
Gabbard told the Wall Street Journal that Wal-Mart sent an employee
to infiltrate an anti-Wal-Mart group to learn if it was going to
protest at the annual shareholders' meeting and investigated McKinsey
& Co. employees it believed leaked a memo about Wal-Mart's health-care plans.
Gabbard also said Wal-Mart monitored suppliers' use of the company's
computer network, resulting in the discovery of a vendor's
downloading pornography.
Gabbard told the Journal he recorded the calls to the New York Times
reporter on his own, but added that many of his activities were
approved by Wal-Mart. The Journal article reported other employees
and security firms confirmed parts of his account.
Clark says she cannot comment on Gabbard's claim of blanket approval,
because "that's a pretty broad statement. We wouldn't be able to
comment on that without knowing the details he's referring to."
Clark also declined to comment on specific allegations, but maintains
about McKinsey: "We continue to work closely with McKinsey, and we
have no evidence that anyone there ever inappropriately shared
confidential information."
http://securitysolutions.com/news/walmart-security-spying/
The Badges Law Enforcement Discussion Group - Est. 1997
The Badges Law Enforcement Discussion Group - Est. 1997
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