With the new Regulation of Interception of Communications and the Provision of Communication-Related Information (RIC) Act having come into effect from 1 December, the Department of Communications has issued a directive to communications services providers to ensure that they comply with the requirements of the new legislation in allowing for the legal interception of traffic.
"Internet and fixed line and wireless telecommunications service providers now have six months in which to ensure they are fully compliant with the lawful intercept requirements of the new Act, which was drafted by the Department of Communications," said Craig Alexander, chief operating officer of JSE-listed ICT solutions specialist Square One Solutions Group.
"Global technology developments and resources are being increasingly used by the US and its First World allies to combat phenomena such as international terrorism, international crime syndicates and large-scale corporate or white-collar crime. Countries that are developing as First World economies are also under pressure to conform by introducing legislation."
Lawful intercept traditionally describes the process by which law enforcement agencies conduct electronic surveillance of circuit, packet-mode communications and fixed line and wireless telecommunications under the authorisation of a judicial or administrative order.
"The international trend more recently is that specific legislation and regulations are increasingly being adopted that require providers of public and private communications services to design and implement their networks to explicitly support authorised electronic surveillance in the overall interests of combating global terrorism and crime," said Alexander.
"The South African RIC Act spells out the basis upon which the interception, collection and mediation of traffic can be undertaken within a legal process overseen by the Department of Justice. It ensures that the various official security agencies adhere to the established legal process and obtain the required permits for the legal interception of information.
"With the structuring of the Act through the Department of Communications a much broader, blanket approach has been made possible with the objective of improving national security and forming partnerships with appropriate strategic allies."
A number of service providers in South Africa have already implemented lawful intercept systems and are compliant with the requirements of the RIC Act. Square One Solutions Group has been involved in helping service providers to prepare for the lawful intercept legislation over the past 30 months. The company provides full system implementation, tailor-made, highly flexible mediation solutions capable of integrating with multiple vendors concurrently and a range of support services to Tier 1 Internet Service Providers who have to comply with the lawful intercept requirements of the RIC Act.
The Act requires Internet service providers (ISPs) and cellular network providers to make it possible for e-mails and cellular phone calls to be intercepted. ISPs also have to install at their own cost the necessary technology and data lines to provincial interception centres.
In terms of the Act ISPs and cellphone operators also have to keep e-mail and call-related information for specific periods and cellphone users are now also required to give network operators personal information.
The Act also affects the manner in which companies manage employee email and a number of conditions have to be met if email monitoring is to be carried out without an employee's full written consent.
There are heavy penalties for failure to comply -- a fine of up to R2-million or imprisonment up to 10 years.
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