Method for lawfully intercepting communication IP packets exchanged between terminals

• US 7,958,233 B2
• Filed: 12/18/2008
• Issued: 06/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Media Patents S.L.
• Original Assignee: Media Patents S.L.
• Inventors: Fernandez Gutierrez, Alvaro
• Primary Examiner(s): LIN, WEN TAI
• Application Number:
  US12/338,799
• Publication Number:
  US 20100083364A1
• Time in Patent Office: 901 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/306 intercepting packet switched data communications, e.g. Web, Internet or IMS communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2281 Call monitoring, e.g. for law enforcement purposes; Call tracing; Detection or prevention of malicious calls

Abstract

A method for lawfully intercepting communication IP packets exchanged between terminals is provided. The method involves assigning an IP address associated with a telecommunication service provider to, for example, a sending terminal for use as its IP address in communications with a receiving terminal, the telecommunication service provider providing SIP proxy services for establishing communication between the sending and receiving terminals. The communication IP packets are intercepted in such a way that the terminals are unaware of the interception.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for lawfully intercepting communication IP packets exchanged between a first terminal having a first IP address and a second terminal having a second IP address comprising:

a first equipment in a first data network of a first telecommunications service provider assigning a third IP address corresponding to the first telecommunications service provider to the first terminal for use in a SDP (Session Description Protocol) connection field of SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) messages sent by the first terminal,

establishing communication between the first and second terminals by exchanging SIP messages using an SIP proxy service of the first data network,

the first equipment and/or a second equipment in the first data network receiving at least some of the communication IP packets sent from the first terminal,

intercepting the communication IP packets in the first data network; and

the first and/or second equipment in the first data network receiving from the first terminal encapsulated communication IP packets having an outer header containing the first IP address, the first and/or second equipment unpacking the encapsulated communication IP packets to remove the outer header before sending the communication IP packets to the second terminal.

2. A computer-implemented method for lawfully intercepting communication IP packets exchanged between a first terminal having a first IP address and a second terminal having a second IP address comprising:

a first equipment in a first data network of a first telecommunications service provider assigning a third IP address corresponding to the first telecommunications service provider to the first terminal for use in a SDP (Session Description Protocol) connection field of SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) messages sent by the first terminal,

establishing communication between the first and second terminals by exchanging SIP messages using a SIP proxy service of the first data network,

the first equipment and/or a second equipment in the first data network receiving at least some of the communication IP packets sent from the first terminal and removing any first IP address data from the communication IP packets before sending the messages to the second terminal,

intercepting the communication IP packets in the first data network, the SIP messages being intercepted without changing the SDP connection field; and

the first and/or second equipment in the first data network receiving from the first terminal encapsulated communication IP packets having an outer header containing the first IP address, the first and/or second equipment unpacking the encapsulated communication IP packets to remove the outer header before sending the communication IP packets to the second terminal.

3. A computer-implemented method for lawfully intercepting a communication between a first terminal having a first IP address and a second terminal comprising:

sending from a first data network of a telecommunications service provider a second IP address corresponding to the telecommunications service provider for use as a source address in an inner header of at least some of the communication IP packets sent by the first terminal,

establishing communication between the first and second terminals using an SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) proxy service of the first data network, the second terminal located outside the first data network,

receiving in the first data network encapsulated communication IP packets sent from the first terminal which contain the inner header and unpacking in the first data network the encapsulated communication IP packets to remove any outer headers that contain the first IP address,

intercepting in the first data network at least some of the communication IP packets received from the first terminal without changing the inner header; and

sending from the first data network the unpacked data packets containing the inner header to the second terminal.

4. A method according to claim 3 wherein the second IP address is sent from a first server located in the first data network system.

5. A method according to claim 4 wherein the second IP address is that of a network interface of the server.

6. A method according to claim 5 wherein the second IP address is a Mobile IP version 4 or a Mobile IP version 6 address of the network interface.

7. A method according to claim 3 wherein a first server located in the first data network receives the encapsulated data packets and unpacks the data packets.

8. A method according to claim 4 wherein a second server located in the first data network and connected to the first server intercepts the communication IP packets.