Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) issued a statement today that acknowledged some of its employees accessed the personal cell phone account of President-Elect Barack Obama. President and CEO Lowell McAdam stated: “This week we learned that a number of Verizon Wireless employees have, without authorization, accessed and viewed President-Elect Barack Obama’s personal cell phone account. The account has been inactive for several months. The device on the account was a simple voice flip-phone, not a BlackBerry or other smartphone designed for e-mail or other data services. All employees who have accessed the account – whether authorized or not – have been put on immediate leave, with pay. As the circumstances of each individual employee’s access to the account are determined, the company will take appropriate actions. Employees with legitimate business needs for access will be returned to their positions, while employees who have accessed the account improperly and without legitimate business justification will face appropriate disciplinary action. We apologize to President-Elect Obama and will work to keep the trust our customers place in us every day.”

Although the intrusion seems minimal given that it was an inactive account that was used primarily for voice, it’s disturbing since typically the carrier serves as the gatekeepers of privacy and security. What should other government employees think? Going forward, this will become a much bigger issue, as phones do become more open and can access third-party applications and services. Someone will have to guarantee a certain standard, and if the carriers don’t want the responsibility, they’ll likely become the thing they fear the most—dumb pipes—similar to how Internet providers today.