CALEA

Tue May 31 07:10:56 UTC 2016

CALEA isn't a type of request, it's a law that enabled par function
access for LEO's e.g. "the ladder" pin register, trap+trace, DTMF
translation, three-way/off hook ops and the call content (not
necessarily in that order).

You can see the non national security activity here:

On Sat, May 28, 2016 at 5:37 AM, Mike Joseph <mj at doze.net> wrote:
> I can say via firsthand knowledge that CALEA requests are definitely
> happening and are not even that rare, proportional to a reasonably sized
> subscriber-base.  It would be unlawful for me to comment specifically on
> any actual CALEA requests, however.  But if you have general questions
> about my observations, feel free to reach out directly.
>
> -MJ
>
> On Thu, May 12, 2016 at 11:28 AM, Brian Mengel <bmengel at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> My comments were strictly limited to my understanding of CALEA as it
>> applied to ISPs, not telcos.  A request for a lawful intercept can entail
>> mirroring a real time stream of all data sent to/from a customer's Internet
>> connection (cable modem/DSL/dedicated Ethernet) to a LEA.  AFAIK this
>> requires mediation before being sent to the LEA and it is the mediation
>> server itself that initiates the intercept when so configured by the ISP.
>> Perhaps some LEAs have undertaken the mediation function so as to
>> facilitate these intercepts where the neither the ISP nor a third party can
>> do so.  If that were the case then very little would be needed on the part
>> of the ISP in order to comply with a request for lawful intercept.  I can
>> say with certainty that these types of requests are being made of broadband
>> ISPs though I agree that they are very rare.
>>
>> On Wed, May 11, 2016 at 2:58 PM, Ricky Beam <jfbeam at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > On Tue, 10 May 2016 17:00:54 -0400, Brian Mengel <bmengel at gmail.com>
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> > AFAIK being able to do a lawful intercept on a specific, named,
>> >> individual's service has been a requirement for providers since 2007.
>> >>
>> >
>> > It's been required for longer than that. The telco I worked for over a
>> > decade ago didn't build the infrastructure until the FCC said they were
>> > going to stop funding upgrades. That really got 'em movin'. (suddenly
>> "data
>> > services" people -- i.e. ME -- weren't redheaded stepchildren.)
>> >
>> > have never heard of a provider, big or small, being called out for being
>> >> unable to provide this service when requested.
>> >>
>> >
>> > Where existing infrastructure is not already in place (read:
>> T1/BRI/etc.),
>> > the telco can take up to 60 days to get that setup. I know more than one
>> > telco that used that grace period to actually setup CALEA in the first
>> > place.
>> >
>> > did not perform intercepts routinely.
>> >>
>> >
>> > The historic published figures (i've not looked in years) suggest CALEA
>> > requests are statistically rare. The NC based telco I worked for had
>> never
>> > received an order in the then ~40yr life of the company.
>> >
>> > The mediation server needed to "mediate" between your customer
>> aggregation
>> >> box and the LEA is not inexpensive.
>> >>
>> >
>> > And also is not the telco's problem. Mediation is done by the LEA or 3rd
>> > party under contract to any number of agencies. For example, a telco tap
>> > order would mirror the control and voice traffic of a POTS line (T1/PRI
>> > channel, etc.) into a BRI or specific T1 channel. (dialup was later
>> added,
>> > but wasn't required in my era, so we didn't support it.) We used to test
>> > that by tapping a tech's phone. Not having any mediation software, all I
>> > could do is "yeap, it's sending data" and listen to the voice channels
>> on a
>> > t-berd.
>> >
>> > --Ricky
>> >
>>
>>