lawfull interception (LI)
Lawful Interception(LI) is the lawful monitoring (tapping) of telecommunications networks and services. Lawful interception refers to technical equipment prescribed by law that enables legally authorized persons to connect to connections and intercept the content.
Lawful interception, also known as legal interception, applies equally to circuit- and packet-switched, to wireline and wireless networks, to mobile networks and cable networks, and to all communications and telecommunications services. It includes voice communications, telephony, mobiletelephony and Internet telephony, long-distance copying, file transfer files, e-mail and Short Message Service( SMS) storage, Internet activities, and more.
Network operators are required by law to equip their networks with interception capabilities so that lawful government agencies, known as Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA), can monitor telecommunication services from there using their monitoring systems.
The LI architecture and the technical guidelines for the switch-on points are specified in various LI standards by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute( ETSI), the Third Generation Partnership Project ( 3GPP), Terrestrial Trunked Radio( TETRA), Telecommunication and Internet Converged Services and Protocols for Advanced Networking( TISPAN), American National Standards Institute( ANSI) and PacketCable.