“We are in possession of a massive database containing contact information for every Shell employee throughout the world. It was supplied by an organized group of over 100 Shell employees from the USA, the UK and the Netherlands intent on a corporate revolution inside your company.”
By John Donovan
The news media has reported that Payroll details of 100,000 Morrisons staff have been published on the web.
The UK supermarket chain launched an internal investigation after information about its 100,000 employees was allegedly leaked by an insider and posted on to the internet. According to The Daily Mail, “The company has set up a hotline and dedicated email address for staff who are worried about the possibility of their information falling into the hands of scammers.”
Royal Dutch Shell was hit by an even bigger breach of employee data in February 2010 – the worlds biggest breach of employee information – when a database containing personal information for 177,000 Shell employees and contractors was supplied to me. It was leaked by a group of disgruntled Shell employees.
I sent an email to Michiel Brandjes, the Company Secretary of Royal Dutch Shell Plc and received an alarmed response from Richard Wiseman, the then Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer of the company. The immediate correspondence is printed below. Because Mr Wiseman later confirmed that personal security would be put at risk, I did not publish the database, but instead, at the request of Mr Wiseman, destroyed it. He was good enough to thank me for the responsible way I dealt with the matter.
The incident generated world-wide news coverage.
INITIAL EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE OF “COLOSSAL SECURITY BREACH AT SHELL”
From: John Donovan [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 03 February 2010 12:29
To: Brandjes, Michiel CM RDS-LC
Cc: Wiseman, Richard RM SI-RDS-CCO
Subject: COLOSSAL SECURITY BREACH AT SHELL
Dear Mr Brandjes
We are in possession of a massive database containing contact information for every Shell employee throughout the world.
It was supplied by an organized group of over 100 Shell employees from the USA, the UK and the Netherlands intent on a corporate revolution inside your company. We agree with the aims of the group.
No doubt “CAS” is already investigating this colossal breach of security.
In addition to an article being prepared, we intend to make the database available online later today.
Please advise as a matter of urgency if Shell has any objections, and if so, what they are. Obviously we do not want to put anyone at risk, though we cannot currently see that this would be the case.
If it is just a matter of a huge embarrassment for Shell, then we will publish as planned.
Best Regards
John Donovan
REPLY FROM SHELL
From: [email protected]
Subject: RE: COLOSSAL SECURITY BREACH AT SHELL
Date: 3 February 2010 13:29:07 GMT
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Dear Mr Donovan
Unfortunately, Mr Brandjes is not able to respond and in view of the deadline you have imposed, I thought it sensible to reply. You will appreciate that our immediate concern is the security of Shell’s staff. Accordingly I should be grateful if you would let me know exactly what information you have and intend to publish. In particular, please let me know whether this information includes private contact information like addresses and phone numbers, in which case we would protest very strongly indeed and require that this information is not published.
Regards
Richard Wiseman
Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer
Royal Dutch Shell plc
Shell Centre, London SE1 7NA
Registered in England and Wales number 4366849
Registered Office: Shell Centre, London, SE1
Headquarters: Carel van Bylandtlaan 30, 2596 HR
The Hague, The Netherlands
Email: [email protected]
Internet: http://www.shell.com
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
