Verizon apologizes to Obama for "unauthorized" snooping

The carrier says it put "a number" of employees who accessed the President-elect's (inactive, luckily) personal cell phone account on "immediate leave" while it investigates the breach. 

According to a statement from Verizon Wireless reps, the account in question was for a "simple voice flip-phone," so we're not talking a BlackBerry with sensitive e-mails or anything. Still, as this AP story notes, anyone with access to Obama's cell phone account (which had been "inactive for several months," according to Verizon) could have seen who he called, when he called them, and how long the conversations lasted.

The carrier said it's investigating which of its employees had authorization to access Obama's account; those without the proper authority will "face appropriate disciplinary action"—like getting fired, I'd hope.

Verizon apologized to Obama and said it will "work to keep the trust our customers place in us every day"—and indeed, Verizon has its work cut out for it, as apparently not even the future POTUS could count on his private phone records staying private while he was a Verizon Wireless customer.

And as All Thing Digital points out, the news only bolsters the argument for Obama to give up his beloved BlackBerry before taking over the Oval Office.

Related:
Verizon staff had unauthorized access to Obama's cell (Reuters)