BAE and Google

Chapter 5: Lessons Learned from Companies Caught in the Act

Posted by Dawn Lomer on July 25th, 2011

Chapter 1: Xerox and Ford Chapter 2: Siemens and Satyam Chapter 3: Tyco and Hewlett-Packard Chapter 4: Johnson & Johnson and Mattel

Chapter 5: BAE and Google

BAE Fine/Settlement: $450 million BAE faced fines in both theUSand theUKfor different crimes. Both settlements were finalized on the same day. In theUS, BAE pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to make false statements to theUSgovernment. It was reported that BAE gained approximately $200 million from business received from the false statements. In theUK, BAE pleaded guilty to one charge of breach of duty in relation to records of payments made inTanzania. It was alleged that BAE paid a Saudi official to influence purchase/contract decisions. Lesson Learned

• Tighten anti-corruption/anti-bribery procedures
  • With both the US and the UK cracking down on bribery and corruption and increasingly hefty penalties, it's more important than ever for companies to conduct due diligence and research common business practices in other countries before embarking on business relationships there.

The Google Street View cars around the world were collecting (inadvertently) private information from Wi-Fi networks that had been left unprotected. Google Issue: Loss of reputation over privacy violations on two fronts The Google Street View cars around the world were collecting (inadvertently) private information from Wi-Fi networks that had been left unprotected. It was reported that the information had been gathered over the past few years. Google Buzz automatically opted users into the feature that showed others their contact lists. Lesson Learned

• Privacy controls
  • Private information should be collected only when necessary and permitted. Before launching a service, test it to make sure that other information isn't exposed in the process. Users should have to opt-in to features before any of their information (contact lists included) is displayed.

Chapter 6: International Monetary Fund and VerizonChapter 7: Happy Days Children's Wear

Dawn Lomer

Manager of Communications

Dawn Lomer is the Manager of Communications at i-Sight Software and a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). She writes about topics related to workplace investigations, ethics and compliance, data security and e-discovery, and hosts i-Sight webinars.