New LI Standard for ISP data

April 20, 2007

On April 2, 2007, the ATIS Standard on Lawfully Authorized Electronic Surveillance (LAES) for Internet Access and Services (ATIS-1000013.2007) was approved. This standard has been defined primarily for use in the US for broadband (ISP, WISP) service providers in response to the FCC’s 2005 and 2006 Report and Orders. Those Report and Orders require all “facilities based broadband and interconnected VoIP” service providers to be CALEA compliant by May 14, 2007 (which is just around the corner). The FCC issued the Report and Orders after the FBI, DOJ and DEA filed a joint petition outlining the need to access communications deemed “information services” in the original CALEA legislation. Clearly broadband services today (email, video, chat, VoIP etc.) are no longer the one way data access “information services” that defined the internet in the early 90’s when CALEA was passed.

This standard is the latest standard to be adopted globally and is in keeping with international trends to keep law enforcement’s capabilities current with advancing technologies. The European standards body (ETSI) adopted a similar “data” standard several years ago as legislation there has existed for many years, with the Netherlands leading the way and passing legislation in 2001 that defined the very first data standard which was TIIT (Transport of Intercepted IP Traffic).

As would be suspected, like other standards, the ATIS standard covers the Handover interfaces (HI-2, HI-3) between the Mediation (Delivery) Function at the service provider and the Collection Function at law enforcement. Historically HI-2 for US standards has been primarily tasked with delivering call/signaling data (start of call, DTMF digits, call waiting signals etc.) for voice calls but obviously in the world of IP/data communications, the character of those “call” data messages has changed. In this standard the HI-2 data messages focus on network “access” (Attempt, Reject, Session End, Failed etc.) and “session” progress (Start, End, Failed, Already Established).

In addition, HI-3 has been defined to carry the “content” of the session. Again traditionally in a voice world this carried TDM voice (wireless or wireline) but now it is carrying the packets of the broadband sessions so that they can be recreated at the LEA.

Other standard bodies also continue their work, including PacketCable for PacketCable 2.0 (VoIP and data), ATIS-PP-1000678.2006 for wireline VoIP, and TIA-1066 for VoIP in CDMA networks.

As things evolve I’ll keep you posted. Till next time …