Updated 02-14-12 The Wall Street Journal reported that for nearly a decade before Nortel collapsed Chinese hackers had widespread access to its corporate computer network.
According to the article, the hackers used seven passwords stolen from top Nortel executives, including the chief executive. The suspected Chinese hackers penetrated Nortel’s computers at least as far back as 2000 and over the years downloaded technical papers, research-and-development reports, business plans, employee emails, and other documents.
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Updated 03-12-09 WirelessWeek is citing The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Nortel is in talks to sell its core wireless equipment business as well as a separate unit that builds telecom systems for offices, according to anonymous sources in the WSJ.
The WSJ reported that Nortel is talking to Nokia Siemens Networks, to sell its wireless business. Avaya and Siemens Enterprise Communications, a joint venture of Siemens and technology private equity firm Gores Group, are interested in the company’s enterprise unit. Cisco Systems reportedly looked at the enterprise unit but wasn’t expected to bid. Nortel declined to comment.
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113-year-old Canadian technology firm Nortel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. Nortel’s losses in the third quarter ballooned to $3.41 billion and 1,300 people had to be let go. CEO and President Mike Zafirovski wrote on the company’s Website. “Most importantly, Nortel is still very much in business.”
Next steps for the former Northern Telecom may include selling various business units or receiving a capital investment as a way to go private, According to Avi Cohen, managing partner at analyst firm Avian Securities, on TheStreet.com, “The most likely bidders for Nortel’s assets are Ericsson, Huawei (002502), Nokia Siemens, and Cisco (CSCO). We believe Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) and Motorola are less likely bidders because they are struggling with their own challenges and would have a hard time financing such a purchase.”
UBS analyst Maynard Um speculated on CED that the acquisition of Nortel by Huawei would be a possible outcome giving the Chinese firm a significant increase in market access in North America. However, this scenario may run into trouble with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) regulations.
Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
And the absurdity continues – The executives who run companies into the ground continue to get rewards “retention” bonuses and the rest of us get laid-off. In the fine tradition of AIG rewarding the brainiacs who led us all into this global economic meltdown, the geniuses who took Nortel from $250 billion market cap to $65 million market cap and bankruptcy are being rewarded with “retention” bonuses of 30 million dollars. With performance like that, why they are being retained for any reason?