Wal-Mart Defends Security After Ex-Worker Details Surveillance of Employees, Consultants

Source: AP

Wal-Mart Defends Security After Ex-Worker Details Surveillance of Employees, Consultants
04-04-2007 9:20 AM
By MARCUS KABEL, AP Business Writer

(Associated Press) -- Wal-Mart defended its security measures after a fired employee went public Wednesday with allegations of extensive corporate surveillance of the retailer's critics, consultants and shareholders.

The world's largest retailer declined to comment on specific allegations made by former security technician Bruce Gabbard, 44, to the Wall Street Journal in a report published Wednesday. Wal-Mart reiterated that it had fired Gabbard and his supervisor last month 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," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sarah Clark said.

Gabbard was fired after recording phone calls to and from a New York Times reporter and intercepting pager messages.

Read more: http://omaha.cox.net/cci/newsnational/national?_mode=view&_state=maximized&view=article&id=D8O9R8P80&_action=validatearticle

Nice.

Source: CNN

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A former Wal-Mart Stores Inc. worker said he was part of a large surveillance operation that included snooping on employees, stockholders and others, according to a Wall Street Journal report Wednesday.

Security worker Bruce Gabbard was fired last month after 19 years with the company for intercepting a reporter's phone calls, the paper said.

Gabbard said he recorded the calls because he felt pressured to stop embarrassing leaks. But he said his spying activities were sanctioned by superiors.

Gabbard said that as part of the surveillance, the retailer infiltrated an anti-Wal-Mart group to determine if it planned protests at the company's annual meeting last year and deployed monitoring systems to record the actions of anyone connected to its global computer network.

Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/04/news/companies/walmart_spy/index.htm?eref=rss_topstories

...the extreme.

PB

Part mole, part shill, but 100% schmuck.

I had a friend who did a consulting job down at their headquarters in Arkansas.

She said that starting time was at 8:00am (I can't remember the exact figure)...the parking lot was full by 7:00am because people are so absolutely afraid of losing their jobs.

They won't sneeze without permission and from her experience they are more tightly controlled than the Pentagon....

Mission Accomplished, George.

maybe even in the restrooms. I don't go into those stores ever, no one should. No respect for privacy or civil rights.

They have it posted when you enter their parking lot. As for the restrooms...

:shrug:

http://www.davelippman.com/walmart/whyihatewalmart.html

http://walmartwatch.com/

They are evil on every level. Don't shop target or k-mart either. They are exploitative pigs.

Check it out: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/chinablue/ I was sickened when watching this last night.

One of the leaders of Wal-Mart Watch had his vacation photos, posted on the back end of a Web site whose address was sent to only family and friends, end up in the Wal-Mart files. He found out when he was called by a WSJ reporter to comment on their appearance in this information.

Just incredible, isn't it?