CALEA
(Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act)
Overview
In October 1994, the U.S. Congress passed the Communications Assistance for Law
Enforcement Act (CALEA), which was designed to clarify a telecommunications
carrier's duty to cooperate in the interception of communications for law
enforcement purposes. The Act obliges telephone companies to make it possible
for law enforcement agencies to tap any phone conversations carried out over
their networks, as well as making call detail records available.
CALEA went into effect on January 1, 1995. On March 10th, 2004, the DOJ, FBI and
DEA jointly petitioned the FCC to accelerate CALEA compliance among Internet and
VoIP service providers that carry packet-based voice communications on their
networks.
ImageStream manufactures routers that are widely used in Internet and VoIP
service provider networks. As customers have requested assistance with CALEA
compliance, ImageStream has worked to ensure that all customers have the
information needed to successfully complete their compliance efforts.
For additional information on CALEA, please refer to the "Ask CALEA" Web site,
which includes FBI contact information that may be helpful if you have
additional compliance questions. For more information on ImageStream's efforts
to help customers with CALEA compliance, please call ImageStream or e-mail
compliance@imagestream.com.
CALEA Intercept Tools
ImageStream® has released a new version of ImageStream LinuxTM that includes new
CALEA intercept tools. ImageStream Linux 4.2.10-11 (or 4.3.2 for the Envoy) is
the first of several planned software releases from ImageStream that will
include support for CALEA compliance. ImageStream's CALEA intercept tools are
based on the OpenCALEA software project that is actively developed by Merit. The
intercept tools included in this release have been tested in conjunction with
Intelleq, ImageStream's preferred TTP.
ImageStream's intercept tools address a number of critical CALEA compliance
requirements. For example, the software can perform communications intercepts
based on MAC or IP address, and it can filter out traffic that is not targeted
by the court order, which is required by CALEA. ImageStream's solution also
supports "fan-out" for intercept delivery to multiple law enforcement agencies,
and it includes a collector module that can be run on a Linux server to support
capture-to-disk based on the FBI's recommendations for local intercept
buffering. The current release even implements the ATIS LAES protocol to provide
carriers with a safe harbor.
The new 4.2.10-11 distribution can be used to implement CALEA intercepts,
however the tools included in this release do not include support for simplified
provisioning. When released, the upcoming provisioning software will become the
standard for intercept configuration on an ImageStream router. This system will
be described in detail in ImageStream's coming White Paper and documentation for
setting up intercepts. Until this provisioning software is released, ImageStream
customers will be required to contact their TTP or ImageStream technical support
for assistance setting up a court-ordered intercept.
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