[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 117 (Tuesday, September 19, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H6664]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           PRETEXTING AND HP

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Madam Speaker, it was recently reported that in order to 
stop boardroom media leaks, investigators hired by Hewlett-Packard used 
pretexting to obtain the phone records of directors and journalists. 
This disclosure demonstrates another nasty byproduct of having the 
availability of Internet-based personal information instantly 
available.
  One of the major reasons for the growing pretexting problem is the 
lax data security at businesses that hold sensitive consumer 
information. The Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee 
which I chair has amassed an extensive record on these issues.
  I have introduced H.R. 4127, the Data Accountability and Trust Act, 
which is designed to improve data security and attack the scourge of 
privacy-infringing practices, like pretexting, that continue to be 
exploited on the Internet. The DATA Act will go a long way toward 
protecting the privacy rights of all Americans, and I urge its 
consideration by the full House.

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