Battling to keep her job, Hewlett-Packard Co. Chairwoman Patricia Dunn tried Friday to defuse the uproar over a company-ordered investigation that relied on a potentially illegal ruse to obtain the personal phone records of her fellow directors and journalists.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Dunn described the tactics as “absolutely appalling” and “embarrassing” while defending the need to pursue the investigation to plug a leak on HP’s board.