Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive <A HREF="http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2023518,00.asp?kc=EWEWEMNL100206EP13C">Mark Hurd may have known</A> as early as in July 2005 the company was looking into private phone records as part of its leak investigation, The Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition on Monday. A memo from the computer maker's outside law firm suggests Hurd may have learned about the use of phone records within a few months of the start of the leak probe, though he may not have known if the phone records were obtained illegally.