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<DIV><FONT size=2>Forget that the victim is Obama. But if you or I
accessed someone's Verizon account, we'd be open to having criminal charges
filed against us. What's the difference between an unauthorized Verizon
employee accessing an account and you or I accessing that account? Why
isn't Verizon asking for criminal charges? This certainly reduces my
confidence in Verizon's protecting my personal data.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>W.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=5>Verizon Staff Viewed Obama's
Account<BR></FONT></STRONG>
<P><FONT size=-1>By Cecilia Kang<BR>Washington Post Staff Writer<BR>Friday,
November 21, 2008; A08<BR></FONT></P>
<P></P>
<P><A
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Verizon+Communications+Inc.?tid=informline"
target="">Verizon Wireless</A> said last night that a number of its employees
have "accessed and viewed" President-elect <A
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Barack+Obama?tid=informline"
target="">Barack Obama</A>'s personal cellphone account without
authorization.</P>
<P>The company said all employees who accessed the account -- whether they were
authorized to or not -- were immediately put on leave with pay. The firm said it
was evaluating the circumstances of each employee's access to the account to
determine appropriate action, including disciplinary proceedings.</P>
<P>"We apologize to President-elect Obama and will work to keep the trust our
customers place in us every day," chief executive Lowell McAdam said in a
statement.</P>
<P>Verizon spokesman Jeffrey Nelson declined to comment beyond the company's
prepared statement and wouldn't specify how many employees saw the account or
what kind of information was viewed.</P>
<P>The breech of personal data comes as some security experts question whether
Obama, who used the Web as a central part of his campaign strategy, should for
security purposes stop using devices to transfer e-mail and other data when he
becomes president.</P>
<P>The account has been inactive for several months, Verizon said. Obama's phone
was a flip-phone as opposed to a Blackberry or other smartphone device that is
better suited for heavy e-mail and other data services, Verizon said.</P>
<P>While the company wouldn't elaborate on what kind of data was viewed on
Obama's account, it could include calling and billing records.</P>
<P>Verizon will soon become the nation's largest wireless carrier after
completing its merger with <A
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Alltel+Corporation?tid=informline"
target="">Alltel</A>.</P></DIV></BODY></HTML>