Richard L. Bliss, a 29-year-old engineer for Qualcomm, the American wireless communications giant and maker of the popular Eudora email program, will be charged with espionage by Russia. Bliss has been detained since 25 November, when Russian agents arrested him, alleging that he was spying on secret sites. Russia insists that this rare, post-Cold War incident is not politically motivated, and says it will file formal charges Friday. The US maintains that Bliss, who was on assignment with Qualcomm to install a wireless communications network in the Rostov region, is neither a spy nor otherwise connected to the government.
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Industry titans set to announce privacy code: IBM, Intel, Kodak, and other member companies of the Information Technology Industry Council are set to announce a "code of conduct" to protect privacy in the digital age. The announcement, expected Monday, will present guidelines and technological tools meant to help government, business, and consumer groups protect personal data on the Internet. "Concerns about the privacy of personal data threaten to hinder the potential of the Internet and electronic commerce," the coalition said in a statement.
(4.Dec.97)
