Pretexting

Like phishing and pharming, a new term is springing up more and more, especially with its revelation in an HP SEC filing. It’s called pretexting and SecurityFocus has a pretty good description of it here.

The methods being used by companies selling phone records were revealed this week in an interview with a security consultant… the records are simply requested from the provider under the pretext that the caller is the owner of the records, hence the term “pretexting”.

Noted Silicon Valley venture capitalist Thomas Perkins, an HP board member, resigned from the HP board when pretexting was used to uncover which board member leaked information about HP’s corporate strategy. He then fought with HP and the SEC to bring the reason for his resignation out to the public. There are great details in the MSNBC article.

In addition, Perkins has asked other government agencies—the California attorney general’s office, the FTC, the FCC, and the Justice department—to investigate the surveillance of the HP directors.

Is pretexting illegal? Should it be? Thomas Perkins thinks so.