METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INTERCEPTING EVENTS IN A COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20090016526A1
• Filed: 09/16/2008
• Published: 01/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seven Networks LLC (FIG LLC (d/b/a Fortress Investment Group LLC))
• Original Assignee: Seven Networks Inc
• Inventors: FIATAL, Trevor, Sutaria, Jay, Nanjundeswaran, Sridhar, Bavadekar, Shailesh
• Granted Patent: US 7,680,281 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 380/255
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/30 for supporting lawful interception, monitoring or retaining of communications or communication related information circuit switched telephony call monitoring H04M3/2281
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0827 involving distinctive intermediate devices or communication paths network architectures or network communication protocols using different networks H04L63/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures

Abstract

An intercept system provides more effective and more efficient compliance with legal intercept warrants. The intercept system can provide any combination of operations that include near-real-time intercept capture of intercepted data in structured authenticated form, clear text intercept for communications where there is access to encryption keys, cipher text intercept for communications where there is no access to encryption keys, provision of transactional logs to the authorized agency, interception without altering the operation of the target services, and encryption of stored intercepted information.

Claims

1. A method for intercepting data, comprising:

receiving, at a management server, a connection from a remote client, the connection being initiated by the remote client and established outbound from the remote client;

negotiating a point-to-point encryption scheme with a remote mobile device, the point-to-point encryption scheme negotiated between the management server and the mobile device;

receiving, at the management server, a warrant identifier for a warrant authorizing a legal intercept;

receiving, at the management server, a user identifier identifying an intercept target for the legal intercept associated with the warrant, the intercept target corresponding to the mobile device;

automatically intercepting, at the management server, data received and/or sent by the intercept target identified by the user identifier;

inspecting packets having the intercepted data to distinguish end-to-end encrypted channel information from other channel information that is encrypted according to the point-to-point encryption scheme negotiated with the mobile device;

preserving encryption that is included on the end-to-end encrypted channel information when received while removing encryption that is included on at least a portion of the other channel information, said other channel information decrypted using a key obtained during the point-to-point encryption scheme negotiation; and

transferring both the decrypted other channel information and the end-to-end channel information from the management server to a remote device.