METHOD AND SWITCH FOR LAWFUL INTERCEPTION

• US 20160072850A1
• Filed: 04/19/2013
• Published: 03/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: ZHANG, Jiangtao, OLSSON, Lasse, PETTERSSON, Sten, JOHANSSON, Bengt
• Granted Patent: US 10,230,769 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0254 Stateful filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0281 Proxies
• 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 63/306 intercepting packet switched data communications, e.g. Web, Internet or IMS communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/80 Arrangements enabling lawful interception [LI]

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to methods and devices, of activating lawful interception. According to the present disclosure, a gateway comprises a controller for controlling, using a flow control protocol, the flow of packets through a switch controlled by the gateway. The switch receives (S11), from the controller, a lawful interception activation request, comprising a target identity; activates (S12), in response to said request, lawful interception on a target identified by the target identity; duplicates (S13), in the switch, packets targeting the target; encapsulates (S14) the duplicated packets with an additional header; and forwards (S15) duplicates from the switch directly to the lawful interception service provider entity (1) for further distribution to a Lawful interception Agency.

Claims

1. A method, executed in a gateway, of activating lawful interception, wherein said gateway comprises a controller for controlling, using a flow control protocol, the flow of packets through a switch controlled by the gateway, the method comprising:

receiving, from a lawful interception service provider entity, an instruction on lawful interception activation, comprising a target identity;

sending to the switch, from the controller, a lawful interception activation request, comprising the target identity;

thereby instructing a switch to duplicate packets being addressed to the target and forward the duplicates to the lawful interception service provider entity;

offloading at least all packets targeting said target, by redirecting them to the switch; and

sending an acknowledge to the lawful interception service provider entity.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the flow control protocol is extended to comprise lawful interception information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the lawful interception service provider entity comprises an administration function (ADMF), a delivery function two and a delivery function three.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the step of:

the gateway sending interception related information to delivery function two.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the lawful interception activation request further comprises the delivery function three port number and IP address.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the flow control protocol is openflow.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the lawful interception activation request comprises a flow table modification request.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the gateway is located in a core network in a cellular communication system.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the gateway is a Serving Gateway, SGW, a Packet Data Network Gateway, PGW, a Serving GPRS Support Node, SGSN, a Gateway GPRS Support Node, GGSN, a Packet Data Serving Node, PDSN or a Broadband Remote Access Server, BRAS.

23. A computer program, comprising computer readable code which, when run on a node, causes the node to perform the method of claim 1.

10. A method, in a switch, of providing lawful interception,

wherein said switch is controlled by a controller for controlling the flow of packets through said switch using a flow control protocol, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, from the controller, a lawful interception activation request, comprising a target identity;

activating, in response to said request, lawful interception on a target identified by the target identity;

duplicating, in the switch, packets targeting the target;

encapsulating the duplicated packets with an additional header; and

forwarding duplicates from the switch directly to the lawful interception service provider entity for further distribution to a Lawful interception Agency.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the flow control protocol is extended to comprise lawful interception information.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the lawful interception service provider entity comprises an administration function, a delivery function two and a delivery function three, and wherein the duplicated packets are forwarded to delivery function three.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the additional header comprises the delivery function three port number and IP address.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the lawful interception activation request further comprises the delivery function three port number.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the flow control protocol further comprises a message indicating that the node supports lawful interception.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the switch is an openflow switch and the flow control protocol is openflow.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the lawful interception activation request comprises a flow table modification request on the targeted port.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the switch is located in a core network in a cellular communication system.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the switch is located in connection with a gateway in the core network and wherein the switch is used to offload the forwarding function in the gateway.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the gateway is a Serving Gateway, SGW, a Packet Data Network Gateway, PGW, a Serving GPRS Support Node, SGSN, a Gateway GPRS Support Node, GGSN, a Packet Data Serving Node, PDSN or a Broadband Remote Access Server, BRAS.

21. A switch, implemented using a flow control protocol for controlling the forwarding of packets through said switch by a controller, wherein the switch comprises:

a receiver, arranged to receive, from the controller a lawful interception activation request, comprising a target identity;

an activator, arranged to activate, in response to said request, lawful interception on a target identified by the target identity;

a duplicator, arranged to duplicate packets targeting the target;

an encapsulator, arranged to encapsulate the duplicated packets with an additional header; and

a transmitter, arranged to forward duplicated packets from the switch directly to the lawful interception service provider entity for further distribution to a Lawful interception Agency.

22. A gateway, configured to control, using a flow control protocol, the forwarding of packets through a switch, wherein the gateway comprises:

a network communication unit;

a processor and

a memory storing computer program code which, when run in the processor, causes the gateway to;

receive, using the network communication, from a lawful interception service provider entity, an instruction on lawful interception activation, comprising a target identity;

send to the switch using the network communication, a lawful interception activation request of the flow control protocol, comprising the target identity;

thereby instructing a switch to duplicate packets being addressed to the target and forward the duplicates to the lawful interception service provider entity;

offload at least all packets targeting said target, by redirecting them to the switch; and

send, using the network communication, an acknowledge to the lawful interception service provider entity.