FEDERAL
BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION CALLS CABLELABS®'
RELEASE
OF ITS PACKETCABLE™ ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION “A POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT”
FOR CABLE INDUSTRY COMPLIANCE WITH THE COMMUNICATIONS
ASSISTANCE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ACT (CALEA) AND THE
LAWFUL ACCESS NEEDS OF FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Washington,
DC - The FBI responded today to CableLabs®'
release of a technical specification known as the
"PacketCable™ Electronic Surveillance
Specification" which was developed to facilitate
the cable industry's compliance with the Communications
Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA).and meet
the lawful access needs of federal, state and local
law enforcement. Founded in 1988 by members of the
cable television industry from around the world,
Cable Television Laboratories ("CableLabs®")
is a non-profit research and development consortium
that is dedicated to pursuing new cable telecommunications
technologies and to helping its cable operator members
integrate those advancements into their business
objectives. PacketCable™ represents the cable
industry's interoperable interface specifications
for a wide variety of services. PacketCable networks
use Internet Protocol (IP) technology to offer services
such as Voice over IP, otherwise known as IP telephony.
"The
latest issue of this technical specification represents
a milestone in the cable industry's efforts to address
law enforcement's concerns regarding VoIP (Voice
over Internet Protocol) services made available
by cable companies," stated Kerry Haynes, FBI
Assistant Director responsible for Investigative
Technologies. Mr. Haynes added: "This specification
is an extremely positive development which ultimately
will empower federal, state and local law enforcement
agencies with the technical capability to continue
to protect the public by effectuating court-authorized
electronic surveillance. We look forward to working
with the industry in its development of technical
solutions based on this specification and with companies
as they implement solutions into their IP networks."
CableLabs
initial effort to specify a technical solution for
electronic surveillance of IP-based networks was
released in December 1999 as Issue 1 of the "PacketCable™
Electronic Surveillance Specification." Following
its release, law enforcement identified a number
of capabilities absent from Issue 1. Since that
time, CableLabs has actively sought law enforcement
input into its technical specification process to
ensure that law enforcement's need to intercept
communications lawfully were addressed adequately.
The recent release of Issue 4 of the PacketCable™
Electronic Surveillance Specification represents
the culmination of the cooperative endeavor between
CableLabs and law enforcement in establishing a
set of technical requirements to facilitate law
enforcement's future use of court-authorized electronic
surveillance as a critical tool in protecting public
safety and national security.
Stressing
the vital nature of electronic surveillance, Assistant
Director Haynes remarked "the Report of the
9/11 Commission and the testimony provided by a
host of experts during Commission hearings recognized
the importance of intelligence in our war against
terrorism. Intelligence is critically dependent
upon law enforcement's technical collection capabilities
and such capabilities rely on adherence to technical
standards such as this one. The primary mission
of the FBI and law enforcement as a whole is to
prevent and protect against future terrorist attacks.
In that battle, real-time technical interception
capabilities are to the war against terrorism what
radar was to the Second World War - without it our
ability to see enemies approaching is extremely
limited."
In
summarizing the recent cable specification, Assistant
Director Haynes stated "this document is an
extraordinary example of law enforcement and industry
collaboration in the public interest. It stands
as a model for future industry-law enforcement cooperative
efforts." Mr. Haynes extended special recognition
and appreciation to Time-Warner, Comcast, CableVision,
and Cox for their diligent efforts in collaboration
with CableLabs to achieve this milestone in the
provision of critical electronic surveillance capabilities
to law enforcement.
