Two CNET News.com reporters' <A HREF="http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6113362.html?tag=nl.e589">personal telephone records were accessed</A> by a contractor hired by Hewlett-Packard to uncover the source of boardroom leaks to the media, according to the California attorney general's office. The investigation conducted by a company hired by HP used a controversial technique called "pretexting" to obtain the personal phone records of CNET News.com reporters Dawn Kawamoto and Tom Krazit, state prosecutors said. Pretexting is a sometimes-illegal method of obtaining personal records through misrepresentation of someone's identity.