[legalxml-intercept] draft project list for 6 Jan meeting discussion

[Tony Rutkowski <trutkowski@verisign.com>]

OASIS LI-XML Project

Global LI Framework schema

The Framework is the principal initial core activity of
the LI-XML TC.  It consists of two parts - a global
framework, and a set of individual modules.  Each module
has a designated scope that includes global, regional
(i.e., groups of countries), national, agency, state/
province, or municipal variations.


1   Global Framework

     The Global Framework is the generalized model capable
     of encompassing all Lawful Intercept activities
     worldwide, including initial information discovery,
     review of communication records, and interception and
     delivery of communications signalling or content,
     including associated judicial or administrative orders.

1.1 LI global object dictionary

     At present there are several dozen different LI
     handover standards, each with dozens of different
     object identifiers - many for the same objects.
     Layered on top of this ensemble are a significant
     number of new object identifiers that will be developed
     as part of the LI-XML project or borrowed from other
     LegalXML projects.  This will include many national and
     local variations.  Building and maintaining a LI Global
     Object Dictionary is key part of this activity.

1.2 Global Tag & bag meta schema

     Increasingly large amounts of Intercept Related
     Information and Content are being cached or archived
     today.  Doing so will be increasingly critical in doing
     signature analysis to discover technically agile
     criminals and terrorists.  However, in much of the
     Lawful Interception environment, IRI and CC are
     captured and analyzed only as source information - in
     each instance using one of the multiple insular
     standards-based or proprietary specifications.  The
     need for a common meta information schema for tagging
     this information is well appreciated within the "next
     generation" LI community.  This working group will
     focus primarily on XML tagging of network user
     information or intercept data and content; combined
     with an associated  "bagging" schema for global storage
     and analysis.


2 LI Framework modules (tentative)

2.1 Initial information discovery

     The most common and numerically frequent LI related
     activity is the simple act of looking up basic
     information about a communications identifier (such as
     a phone number or email account), or determining all
     such identifiers of a suspect.  However, there is no
     effective means for doing this in an authoritative,
     electronic fashion except for a few proprietary national
     implementations.  The objective is to  develop a
     Global User Identifier Lookup schema.

2.2 Review of communication records

     The second most common and numerically frequent LI
     related activity consists of requesting the records of
     a specific user from a communication services operator.
     There are no means of doing this electronically.  The
     objective is to develop a Global Communications Record
     Lookup schema.

2.3 Interception and delivery of communications signalling or content

     Several dozen diverse international, national, and
     industry sector standards organizations have produced
     (or are producing) ASN.1 specifications for Handover
     Interface ports for the interception and delivery of
     communications signalling or content. No administrative
     schema (HI1) exist; and many if not most of the H12
     (signalling) and HI3 (content) identifiers are
     non-interoperable, and a plethora of disparate
     protocols exist.  The objective is to identify and
     provide a means of discovering on a continuing basis,
     all LI related XML schemas and ASN.1 modules, translate
     those modules into authoritative, interoperable XML schema,
     and develop needed HI1 (administrative) XML schema.

2.4 Judicial or administrative orders

     Many LI related activities require application to be
     make by a Law Enforcement Agency to judicial or
     administrative authorities to obtain a warrant, order,
     or subpoena.  This is a specialized subset of the
     activity being dealt with by the LegalXML Electronic
     Court Filing TC, that will be done in liaison with
     them.  The objective is to develop specifications for
     the use of XML to create LI related documents and to
     transmit those documents from an Law Enforcement Agency
     to a court or LI administrative body, from the court or
     administrative body to a communications provider or
     agent, or to another court, and includes the handling
     of highly classified court documents.

2.5 Authentication and verification schema

     Many tens of thousands of parties are involved globally
     in Lawful Interception process, involving an even
     larger number of communications technical facilities.
     This includes Law Enforcement Agencies, Law Enforcement
     Monitoring Facilities, Communications Services
     Providers and Agent Mediators, and Network Elements.
     Yet there is no global mechanism by which these parties
     and facilities are even known, much less capable of
     verification or authentication.  The needs are similar
     to other OASIS TCs dealing with registries and
     authentication.  The objectives are to develop
     specifications for interoperable LI Global Identifier
     Registries and associated verification and
     authentication schema.