Fergie's Tech Blog

Countdown to CALEA: Do Federal Wiretapping Laws Affect Your Network?

Greg Schaffer writes on ComputerWorld:

CALEA. What is it, and what does it mean for your network? If the acronym for the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act is familiar, chances are your organization has already done much decision-making regarding CALEA. If not, with the deadlines for reporting and compliance fast approaching, it's time to become familiar with CALEA and what implications it may have for the network you administer.

First, some background. Congress enacted CALEA in 1994. CALEA's purpose was to provide a way of intercepting voice communications from digital telephone networks to aid in Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA) in investigations.

In 2005, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a First Report and Order on CALEA in response to a joint petition from the Department of Justice, FBI and Drug Enforcement Agency to expand CALEA intercept coverage to include providers of interconnected voice-over-IP (VoIP) services. The First Report and Order required facilities-based Internet services and VoIP broadband providers to be compliant by May 14, 2007.

posted by Fergie @ 1/23/2007 11:34:00 AM