Russian hi-tech spy devices come under attack

Moscow

NEW Russian technologies, including phonecall interception and a facial recognition app, have stirred a fierce debate about privacy and data monitoring.

Infowatch, a Moscow-based IT security company managed by businesswoman Natalya Kasperskaya, found itself in hot water last month after it revealed it had invented a system that companies can use to intercept employees' mobile phone conversations.

Companies outside Russia have also devised call interception software, and Infowatch already markets products that monitor employees' e-mails, USB keys and printers.

But Ms Kasperskaya says she was taken aback by the storm that surrounded the mobile phone innovation.

"We weren't expecting this. For us it was only another channel of communication," Ms Kaspers…