CEO Perspective
June 25, 2019
Together We’re Saving Lives
Given the sensitive issue of consumer privacy rights and government overreach, it is not surprising that some may view subpoena compliance and lawfully authorized electronic surveillance as an intrusion into the right to privacy of consumers. After nearly 20 years in the telecommunications business, I share your concerns. However, I want to change the narrative because I have witnessed how these investigative tools save lives. The intelligence gathered in these lawful investigations is a critical part of our public safety infrastructure, just as our public safety answering point 911 call centers and other forms of public safety networks.
Consider the safety of our children. The establishment of the AMBER Alert System by the Department of Justice in 1996 has successfully recovered nearly 1,000 children as a result of the widely supported system[1] but intelligence from subpoena compliance also plays an integral part of these investigations. In 2018, 9% of all cases Subsentio handled on behalf of our clients were identified as child exploitation investigations. We responded to nearly as many of these cases in the first quarter of 2019 alone as we did in all of last year. We treat every child exploitation case as an emergency as it is clearly a public safety issue.
Subpoenas are frequently the building blocks of an investigation before an investigator seeks authority from the courts for a live wire tap or electronic surveillance order. However, not all investigations are that methodical. We frequently handle life or death circumstances with exigent electronic surveillance. Kidnappings, terrorist bombings, revenge killings, murder for hire investigations are all examples of public safety emergencies that can be resolved expeditiously with electronic surveillance.
Safe Harbor is more than just a clause in the CALEA statutes. For Subsentio, Safe Harbor is a common goal that we share between service providers and law enforcement to make our world a safer place. We celebrate every time we help save a life, which is why we recently presented our first Safe Harbor Award to Carolina West Wireless. Their assistance was critical for law enforcement to locate two teenagers lost in a national park in early spring of this year.
By partnering together, we are saving lives.
[1] Department of Justice’s America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response Alert System, https://www.amberalert.gov/statistics.htm
May 19, 2017
Origins & Mission
October 16, 2016
Virtualization — Staying Ahead of Criminals and Terrorists
I’ve spent most of my career in telecommunications and in all the years of booms and busts I have not seen a more disruptive shift in this industry as we are experiencing today. The key drivers are the ever insatiable appetite for increasing speeds and virtual switching.
May 10, 2016
The Mission
A year has passed since Subsentio purchased the Neustar Legal Compliance Services Division. What a year it’s been. When I’m asked was it worth it my answer is “absolutely ‘yes.”
Subsentio has doubled in size and is the unchallenged market leader. We have earned our title “the CALEA Compliance Company” many times over. Many factors have played an important role in our ascendance: the most outstanding team of professionals in the business; peerless technology solutions — always tested, certified and ready for action from the moment a court order arrives; our end-to-end service bureau model that guarantees results from start to finish; and always – Subsentio’s intense service focus that puts both the service provider customer and law enforcement first.
April 27, 2016
CTO Marcus Thomas: “The Wicked Problem of Going Dark”
In today’s CEO Perspective, Subsentio president and CEO Steve Bock speaks with CTO Marcus Thomas on the issue of law enforcement “going dark” in the face of rising challenges that make it increasingly difficult to obtain evidence for investigations under current laws such as CALEA.
As the former Assistant Director of Technology for the FBI, with a long and distinguished career in law enforcement, Thomas was present at the start of the “going dark” problem and is one of the most respected authorities on the issue. His insights on how “going dark” has evolved from an occasional to an ever-present and increasingly convoluted challenge are highly relevant at a time when criminals and terrorists have access to a near-limitless array of technologies to conceal their identities and activities. Fraught with complexity, “going dark” is now what Thomas calls a “wicked problem” with so many factors in play that conventional problem-solving techniques are overwhelmed and inadequate.