Lawful interception is a process that enables a Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) to perform electronic surveillance on an individual (a target) as authorized by a judicial or administrative order.  The surveillance is performed through the use of wiretaps on traditional circuit switched telecommunications or Internet services in voice, data and multiservice networks. The LEA delivers a request for an intercept to the target’s service provider, who is responsible for intercepting data communication to and from the individual. The service provider then intercepts the target’s traffic as it passes through and sends a copy of the intercepted traffic to the LEA.

The actual interception of the data of is only the first step in making maximum use of intercepted information. On today’s broadband Internet and as interception awareness increases, agencies that want to gain insight into Internet traffic need the best analysis software available.