| Is it a tempest in a teapot or a full-blown industrial
espionage? And just how private is E-mail? That's what
people are wondering about one of the strangest scandals
to erupt in Silicon Valley in years. On September 1, Eugene Wang surprised his colleagues at Borland International (Scotts Valley, CA) by resigning to join Symantec (Cupertino, CA). As vice president and general manager of the Languages Business Unit, Wang was one of Borland's top executives. But the real surprise came after Wang resigned. Borland says it "received information" that Wang had leaked company secrets to Symantec. Borland then accessed Wang's corporate MCI Mail account and read all the messages he had sent over the previous five days. According to Borland, at least 10 of those messages were addressed to Symantec CEO Gordon Eubanks and contained secret information about Borland's marketing plans, recruiting prospects, business strategy, and specific strategy regarding Symantec. Borland called the local police and the district attorney, charging that Wang had stolen trade secrets, a felony in California. Authorities obtained search warrants and raided Wang's home and Eubanks's office and two houses. The 12-page list of seized items included computers, disks, and files. The next day, Borland sued Wang, Eubanks, and Symantec. How did Borland access Wang's MCI Mail? Borland uses MCI for internal communication and pays for its employees' accounts; therefore, Borland had Wang's password, and the company was able to scan his MCI mailbox. Borland says that this is the first time it has read an employee's E-mail. Symantec won't comment on specifics but denies any wrongdoing. Symantec also accused Borland of "harassment tactics" and dismissed the situation as a "tempest in a teapot." Copyright 1994-1997 BYTE |