Ex-Wal-Mart Worker Details Surveillance of Employees

[babylonsister]

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003567129

'WSJ' Scoop: Ex-Wal-Mart Worker Details Surveillance of Employees

Published: April 04, 2007 12:45 PM ET

A fired Wal-Mart security worker confirmed a newspaper interview Wednesday in which he said he was part of a surveillance operation that spied on company workers, critics, shareholders and consultants. The company defended its security practices.

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. Gabbard and his former supervisor, Jason Hamilton, have declined repeated requests from The Associated Press to talk about their security activities.

more...

[riverdeep]

1. Yikes. They go hand in glove with this administration.

"Gabbard told the newspaper that Wal-Mart sent an employee to infiltrate an anti-Wal-Mart group to learn if it was going to protest at the annual shareholders' meeting and investigated McKinsey & Co. employees it believed leaked a memo about Wal-Mart's health care plans. It also uses software programs to read e-mails sent by workers using private e-mail accounts, he said."

Okay, we all know corporations now spy on their employees email, but infiltrating anti groups? This sounds like the KGB. And once again, the problem isn't that we treat people like shit, it's that someone might find out about it. Abu Ghairib?

"Gabbard told the Wall Street Journal he was part of a large, sophisticated surveillance operation by the Threat Research and Analysis Group, a unit of Wal-Mart's Information Systems Division."

The Threat Research and Analysis Group? Is their logo a bunny being choked to death?

[babylonsister]

2. You inspired my curiosity; I googled The TRaAG, but funnily enough,

didn't find anything specific. It does sound sinister...