Platforms & Technologies
Under the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), virtually all communications service providers (CSPs) — including broadband, VoIP and cloud operators whose services interconnect with the public switched network — are required to provide technical support of lawful intercept upon receipt of a court order.
Subsentio, the CALEA Compliance Company™, is in the business of helping service providers meet this obligation. As the largest Trusted Third Party provider of CALEA compliance solutions in the United States, we operate in a way unique to the industry: a service bureau model that provides true “end-to-end” service spanning every aspect of the lawful intercept process. Subsentio is “hands on” from start to finish: selecting, deploying, testing and fully certifying the right technology solution for the client; providing in-depth review by our legal team of every CALEA court received to ensure its accuracy; and, ensuring skilled liaison with law enforcement responsible for collecting and using evidence gathered by the lawful intercept.
Selection of a CALEA compliance solution is driven by the individual service provider’s needs. Whatever the requirements or network type, Subsentio has the right solution. Our robust suite spans the universe of active and passive CALEA compliance technology platforms, including cloud-based.
We’ll also work with with you’ve got. When the service provider already has a CALEA compliance system in place, but needs expert assistance to run it, we have a solution for that, too: Subsentio Harbor Master, which applies Subsentio’s hallmark service in a managed services environment.
This flexibility has allowed Subsentio to create the broadest set of solutions in the industry so that any company, regardless of size, can meet its CALEA compliance needs. There are Subsentio solutions for network infrastructure as simple as a single core router, or as complex as a global network with multiple intercept access points.
The following illustration shows Subsentio’s principal network architecture for its Trusted Third Party services. We sit in the middle between service providers and law enforcement. In each application, a secured VPN is established from the client’s network to Subsentio’s Security Operations Center and then to LEA monitoring centers as needed.
Active Solutions
Active CALEA solutions integrate directly with lawful intercept modules (software) built into core network devices such as switches, routers, and session border controllers (SBCs).
With an active CALEA solution, compliance is achieved through completing secured connections to three components in a court ordered wiretap:
- Access Function (AF): Raw target traffic is pulled from a switch, router, or probe by mirroring the subscriber’s data and content stream in real time without the target knowing that it is under surveillance.
- Mediation Device (MD): Controls the lawful intercept portion of the access functions and also typically performs the delivery function of electronic surveillance. The MD interfaces with network elements and sends the intercepted events and data to the LEA in the required CALEA-standards delivery format. The MD is also capable of fanning out to multiple agencies simultaneously on a single target as required by CALEA.
- Collection Device (CD): Processes intercepted traffic at the LEA monitoring center for gathering admissible evidence and forensics of the target(s) involved in the case.
Subsentio’s active solutions include the Subsentio Harbor Interceptor™ and the Subsentio Harbor Mediator™. Each is highly scalable and capable of managing multiple lawful intercepts on network elements from a broad variety of switching manufacturers.
Passive Services
Passive solutions reside at the network’s edge and, once put into action by a court order, sniff the traffic, look for and intercept target information as it traverses the network, then perform the mediation function and deliver evidence to law enforcement in standardized formats.
For passive services, Subsentio offers the Subsentio Safe Harbor Probe™ and the Subsentio Safe Harbor Cloud™ . The Subsentio Safe Harbor Probe is manufacturer neutral so that it does not matter what network elements are used for monitoring. The probe has several unique features that are exclusive to Subsentio such as a built in VPN and the ability to buffer intercepts for Law Enforcement. The probe is capable of intercepting VoIP and broadband data, including LTE.
The Subsentio Safe Harbor Cloud provides the ease, convenience and cost-savings of today’s cloud computing, applied to CALEA compliance requirements.
Professional Services
Subsentio’s solutions portfolio also includes key Professional Services.
Our CALEA Compliance Analysis Services help the client identify any gaps or weaknesses in an existing CALEA solution clients and put them right, to ensure compliance.
Subsentio Harbor Master lets the CSP choose convenient options for improving the management and cost-effectiveness of their CALEA solution:
- Managing an existing manufacturer’s solution where the client owns the lawful intercept technology embedded within the platform and Subsentio manages all aspects of the court order process.
- Managing an existing mediation platform where the client owns the lawful intercept mediation device(s) and Subsentio manages all aspects of the court order process.
Whatever the CALEA compliance need, Subsentio has you covered.