Some industry analysts had expected Hewlett-Packard to announce more directly who it felt was responsible, inside or outside the company.

Chairwoman Leaves Hewlett in Spying Furor

By DAMON DARLIN and MATT RICHTEL



PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 22 — The furor over Hewlett-Packard’s spying operation claimed its highest-ranking victim on Friday with the immediate resignation of its chairwoman, Patricia C. Dunn.



The move was announced by Mark V. Hurd, the chief executive, who will now succeed her. But even as he offered an account of an investigation gone awry, and offered apologies to those whose privacy was invaded, he made it clear that many questions had yet to be answered.

His voice shaking, Mr. Hurd said a review of the means used to trace leaks from the company’s board had produced “very disturbing” findings. He also conceded that “I could have, and I should have,” read a report prepared for him while the operation was under way.

The investigators’ zeal led them into a shadowy world of surveillance, and in the end the giant computer company was embarrassed by its own use of technology.

Two executives who supervised the effort were also reported to be leaving.

In addition to direct surveillance, the operation entailed the use of possibly illegal methods to obtain phone records of board members, journalists and others; an attempt to place software on a reporter’s computer to track e-mail; and a study of the use of clerical workers and cleaners to infiltrate two news organizations.

At a news conference at Hewlett-Packard’s headquarters here, Mr. Hurd said it had been proper and necessary for Ms. Dunn to try to stem leaks of confidential information. But he added, “While many of the right processes were in place, they unfortunately broke down, and no one in the management chain, including me, caught them.”

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