Verizon cans workers who snooped Obama's cell phone, CNN reports

Computerworld - Verizon Wireless has fired an undisclosed number of employees who snooped into the cell phone records of President-elect Barack Obama earlier this year, according to a report by cable news channel CNN.

Verizon declined to answer questions today, but a company spokesman said he "would not disagree with the CNN story."

Friday, CNN quoted a source within Verizon who said that several workers had been fired for looking at call records on an Obama cell phone that had been inactive for months. No text messages could have been read by the employees, if Obama had sent or received them, the source told CNN. They also would not have been able to access any voice mails, although they would have been able to see whether any had been left for Obama.

"This was some employees' idle curiosity," the source told CNN.

Last Thursday, Verizon acknowledged that the president-elect's phone records had been viewed by personnel not authorized to access them, and the company said that it had put some workers on paid leave pending an investigation and would take additional action if necessary.

"As the circumstances of each individual employee's access to the account are determined, the company will take appropriate actions," Verizon Wireless said in a statement issued last week. "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."

Verizon also apologized to Obama for the breach.

The news last week followed speculation that Obama will have to surrender his BlackBerry over concerns about security risks and compliance with federal laws, particularly the 1978 Presidential Records Act, which requires all presidential communications to be archived.