Great moments in corporate sliminess

So, let's say an influential US Senator accuses your database company of having, "an egregious security gap that risks making millions of Americans the unwitting victims of identity theft."

And let's say he shows pictures of data from lofty personalities ranging from Arnold to Paris Hilton. Hey, even celebrities are at risk!

Would your response be to issue a written statement saying, "our terms of use restricitng access go beyond federal law and current industry standards."

What was that meeting like? Do the people at West really believe that consumers care one bit about "current industry standards" or even "federal law"? Did the people at West think the issue would go away?

And most important, didn't just one person in that meeting say, "Hey, we're people with identities too. Let's do the right thing. Let's announce that we'll do the security correctly within three weeks?"

Details: The New York Times > Business > Senator Says Data Service Has Lax Rules for Security. (is that a stain on Chuck Schumer's tie?)