Lawful intelligence gives investigators reach into data universes that are nearly unlimited in volume and complexity. Automated tools make it possible to ingest, normalize, analyze and interpret data at massive scale, but those tools do not operate in a vacuum, and cases are ultimately built and prosecuted by humans. That combination of realities makes the robustness and low-friction usability of lawful intelligence platforms critical.
Analysts define subjects, devices, and geographies of interest and strategically drive the intelligence lifecycle. They investigate hypotheses with questions such as, “Did Subject A and Subject B meet in the vicinity of the port between 9:00 and 10:00?” or, “Which devices show a sudden change in travel behavior after the event of interest?” The SS8 lawful intelligence platform translates that human-language into geospatial, temporal, and relational queries across its data lake to generate answers. Likewise, it falls to human analysts to interpret data anomalies detected by the platform, such as a subject’s unusual behavior or financial activity.
The SS8 platform deeply integrates investigative tools into analyst workflows, including a single pane of glass to ingest, manage, and maximize the value of available data. Beyond connecting to data from every source and discerning meaning from it, the environment helps investigators and prosecutors efficiently build evidential narratives that win in court. At the same time, robust governance mechanisms and security systems protect the viability of cases and protect data integrity while safeguarding privacy.
Standardizing on Advanced Data Capabilities
The automated lawful intelligence digital pipeline scales analysts’ human knowledge and tradecraft across hundreds or thousands of data feeds and reduces human error. The SS8 platform can respond to specific defined triggers such as geofence breaches, SIM swaps, or meeting detections by generating queries or alerts. In addition to taking over manual monitoring tasks, automated workflows help abstract away the technical complexity of data interpretation.
The SS8 platform flags meetings, border crossings, behavioral deviations, and other events without investigators having to stitch together location coordinates, timestamps, and call data records. Low-level traffic visibility drills deeper using capabilities such as SS8’s Enhanced Protocol Extraction Engine (E-PXE), which extracts metadata from complex, encrypted, and encapsulated traffic flows to identify the parties communicating and the application they are using. Normalizing such advanced capabilities makes investigations more effective.
SS8 iDossier builds structured case files for individuals and groups to aggregate and disseminate investigational data. It adds data points as varied as IMSIs and tattoo descriptions to those dynamic profiles, reconstructs timelines of movement and communication, and visualizes relationships through link analysis and social graphs. Lawful intercept data and real-time alerts are integrated automatically, while analysts can automatically reconstruct sessions and events as well as annotate profiles to add a narrative layer.
Screen Shot of Intellego XT iDossier
For investigators, iDossier profiles are a key way to tie together the communications, location data, intercept sessions, and behavioral insights tied to a subject or case. The profiles also provide a foundation for export of evidential playlists—the structure that hands cases over from investigators to prosecutors in a usable form that preserves integrity and context. These digital storyboards provide structured narratives that combine data and insights into a legally admissible format for use in court.
Safeguarding Intelligence with Security and Governance
Preserving the integrity and confidentiality of lawful intelligence data protects both legal cases and the personal information of individuals, many of whom are not guilty of any crime. Risks of unauthorized access can range from alerting criminals that they are being investigated, to evidence tampering that gets good cases dismissed. SS8 data-protection measures are based on international standards, keeping pace with the evolution of today’s dynamic distributed networks and providing the flexibility to meet regulatory mandates across jurisdictions globally.
All lawful intelligence functions are isolated from production networks to minimize the attack vectors and prevent direct external access, with a highly restricted scope of authorized users. Layered levels of logical and physical network segmentation help further reduce the risk that systems will be breached by unauthorized actors. The SS8 platform protects all sensitive data in transit and at rest in accordance with the latest ETSI recommendations using TLS 1.3, and all encryption keys are stored in isolated digital vaults.
Role-based access control (RBAC) and strict authentication and authorization mechanisms regulate who is allowed to interact with the system and perform specific tasks such as initiating interception or data queries. In addition to hardening security, integrity, and accountability, role-based segmentation of privileges on the system enhances auditability. Every action performed on the SS8 platform is logged with user ID and timestamp in a rich, tamper-proof audit trail that confirms compliance with regulatory frameworks and operational protocols. Ensuring that data and evidence remain unaltered and verifiable safeguards the overall lawful intelligence lifecycle.
This blog is part three of a four-part series, “End-to-Intelligence Gathering,” which illustrates investigative challenges and technological solutions throughout the intelligence lifecycle. Part 1, “Sources & Methods,” introduces conceptual and operational practices for sourcing and identifying value in relevant data. Part 2, “Ingest & Analysis,” discusses transformation of that data into actionable intelligence. This third installment, “Dissemination & Impact,” addresses methods for using intelligence in investigations effectively and securely. Part 4, “Use Cases & Illustrations,” relates examples of how analysts apply end-to-end intelligence in real-world scenarios.
About David Anstiss
David Anstiss is Director of Solution Engineering at SS8 Networks. He has been with SS8 since 2015 and has significant experience in critical network architecture technology and advanced data analytics. He currently works as part of the Technical CTO Group under the leadership of Dr. Cemal Dikmen and is responsible for leading engagement with both intelligence agencies and Communication Service Providers (CSPs) around the world. He has been instrumental in helping them transition to 5G, defining system requirements to meet regulatory compliance. As a member of ETSI, he represents SS8 to ensure the adoption of cloud-native infrastructure is met with industry best practices and to guarantee that compliance of lawful interception is maintained. Learn more about David here on his LinkedIn profile.
About Kevin McTiernan
Kevin McTiernan is a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience in the security industry. His extensive expertise spans big data, cybersecurity, network security analysis, and regulatory compliance. As Vice President of Government Solutions at SS8, Kevin specializes in the implementation of advanced intelligence solutions for the U.S. Government, law enforcement, and the Five Eyes alliance. He is an accomplished public speaker and an adamant supporter and volunteer for the National Child Protection Task Force. You can learn more about Kevin on his LinkedIn profile.
About Rory Quann
Rory Quann is a Senior Solutions Engineer specializing in End-to-End Government Solutions at SS8 Networks and brings with him over 14 years of experience in the Lawful Interception and Data Analysis industry. Prior to joining SS8 in 2013, Rory worked for BAE System Applied Intelligence where he was focused on large scale Government deployments of Intelligence Solutions. Rory has held multiple positions in the Lawful Intelligence space ranging from Deployment Engineer, System Consultant, and Sales Engineer focusing on Country-wide Passive deployments. Rory is a Certified Microsoft MCSA Engineer and EMC Certified deployment Engineer. Learn more about Rory on his LinkedIn profile here.
About SS8 Networks
As a leader in Lawful and Location Intelligence, SS8 is committed to making societies safer. Our mission is to extract, analyze, and visualize critical intelligence, providing real-time insights that help save lives. With 25 years of expertise, SS8 is a trusted partner of the world’s largest government agencies and communication providers, consistently remaining at the forefront of innovation.
Discovery is the latest solution from SS8. Provided as a subscription, it is an investigative force multiplier for local and state police to fuse, filter, and analyze massive volumes of investigative data – in real time.
Intellego® XT monitoring and data analytics portfolio is optimized for Law Enforcement Agencies to capture, analyze, and visualize complex data sets for real-time investigative intelligence.
LocationWise delivers the highest audited network location accuracy worldwide, providing active and passive location intelligence for emergency services, law enforcement, and mobile network operators.
Xcipio® mediation platform meets the demands of lawful intercept in any network type and provides the ability to transcode (convert) between lawful intercept handover versions and standard families.
To learn more, contact us at info@SS8.com.
