VZW employees on leave for looking at Obama cellphone records

Verizon Wireless has placed several employees on leave for accessing President-Elect Barack Obama’s personal cellphone account, according to CEO Lowell McAdam.
In a statement, McAdam said the company learned of the unauthorized access this week and took immediate action. The device on the account, which has been inactive for several months, was described by McAdam as a “simple voice flip-phone, not a BlackBerry or smartphone designed for e-mail or other data services.”
“All employees who have accessed the account – whether authorized or not – have been put on immediate leave, with pay,” McAdam said. “As the circumstances of each individual employee’s access to the account are determined, the company will take appropriate actions.”
The company did not say how many employees viewed Obama’s account.
The Obama-Biden transition team declined to publicly comment on the incident. However, RCR Wireless learned Verizon Wireless notified transition officials yesterday about the privacy breach in advance of issuing a press release last night.
During the election season, Obama’s campaign used Verizon Wireless as its main wireless provider. According to campaign finance reports, the campaign spent more than $1 million on wireless services provided by Verizon Wireless. The campaign used text messaging to reach potential voters and also had a Web site available for mobile users.
McAdam said employees that accessed Obama’s account for legitimate purposes will be returned to their positions. Employees who accessed the account improperly or without authorization will face appropriate disciplinary action.
“We apologize to President-Elect Obama and will work to keep the trust our customers place in us every day,” McAdam said.