Was HP spying on Dell?

More intrigue from Palo Alto, as additional charges of corporate spying are being thrown at Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ). Apparently, it engaged in espionage on some of its employees who it feared were feeding confidential information to rival Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL). Fortune magazine reported that HP obtained the records of former employee Karl Kamb, Jr. based on the belief that Kamb was stealing trade secrets. Further, a counter-suit Kamb filed in January indicates that HP was paying a former Dell executive for trade secrets.

The story will only get goofier from here, probably. The "pretexting" event from last year that dragged Hewlett-Packard into Capital Hill sessions and extensive media coverage appears to not have been an isolated incident. If HP did indeed receive trade secrets from Dell, that would be a violation of federal law and would again have CEO Mark Hurd under scrutiny, just as HP continues to make great gains at the expense of Dell and IBM (NYSE: IBM) these days (good news for HPQ investors). Is another rainy day coming for HP soon?

Dell, meanwhile, has "requested a full and thorough full investigation" from HP but has not heard back from the Palo Alto company. 2007 may go down as yet another year where a ridiculous black cloud hangs over HP's head even as the company is doing well financially against all its main competitors. Perhaps it is doing well because of all the "trade secrets" it gleaned from Dell in the huge PC market for consumers. (Just kidding . . . )