General Motors, like the administration that shepherded it through bankruptcy and a bailout, has an information security problem in high-ranking officials who leak information to the media.
“We have to stop leaking in this company. It’s an act of treason,” GM CEO Dan Akerson said during a teletownhall conference call with GM employees. “It undercuts our competitive position.” Akerson was reacting to the fact that “an executive leaked confidential financial information, telling a reporter the company’s revenue figure,” according to the Associated Press.
Recommended Stories
With “treason,” Akerson reached rhetorical heights beyond even President Obama’s when he denounced the national security leaks that have plagued his administration in recent months.
“[W]hen this information, or reports, whether true or false, surface on the front page of newspapers, that makes the job of folks on the front lines tougher and it makes my job tougher — which is why since I’ve been in office, my attitude has been zero tolerance for these kinds of leaks and speculation,” Obama told reporters in June.
Incidentally, Akerson’s comments on the call were reported because “a participant on the call allowed an Associated Press reporter to listen.”
