Reports: Verizon Wireless fires those associated with Obama breach

Verizon Wireless has taken action against employees who improperly accessed President-elect Barack Obama’s personal cellphone account, according to published reports.
Last week, CEO Lowell McAdam issued a statement saying the company had placed several employees on paid leave after learning Obama’s account had been accessed improperly.
A Verizon source told CNN Friday that the company had fired employees that were part of the records breach. How many employees were fired is not known and the source indicated to CNN that “we now consider this matter closed.”
On Monday, Verizon Wireless would not comment on the issue or whether the company had fired employees, according to Jeffrey Nelson, a Verizon spokesman.
“We issued a statement last Thursday, and have nothing more to add,” Nelson said.
McAdam said the account in question had been inactive for several months and the device was described as a simple voice flip-phone, not a BlackBerry or smartphone designed for e-mail or other data services.
Verizon customer service employees are not authorized to access customer records unless a customer requests that information. The source told CNN that there was some “idle curiosity” with Obama’s account. The source said the employees did not have access to any text messages or voicemails.
McAdam said employees who accessed Obama’s account for legitimate purposes would be returned to their positions. Verizon issued an apology to Obama and notified his transition team of the breach before releasing McAdam’s statement.
The Obama-Biden transition team has also declined to comment on the matter. During his presidential campaign, Obama paid Verizon Wireless and its parent company, Verizon Communications, about $2.5 million.