Telephones, NSA and you

[unhappycamper]

Are you wondering if Mikey is listening to your phone calls? I’ll tell you a bit about how the system works, and you be the judge.

When you pick up the phone, you hear a dial tone. That tone comes from a computer at a central office near you. The first six numbers of your telephone number are called NPA (area code) NXX (exchange). When you pick up the phone and hear a dial tone, you are ‘talking’ to the computer at your CO.

When you dial a number, your CO computer uses the NPA-NXX of the dialed number to determine how to route the call. If you’re calling someone who is connected to the same CO, the computer switches you to that number & you’re talking. In case I forget to mention it later, every switch event is recorded so the phone company can properly bill you. When you call your Mom next door, an AMA record is generated when you pick up the phone, another when you dial a number, another when your call connects and another when you hang up. Let me repeat that again – every switch event on every switch your call touches EVERYWHERE makes a record of your call. More than you ever wanted to know about telephone billing systems can be found https://www.opastco.org/docs/OTCOSSPaper%2520final.pdf+%22message+processing+system%22%2Bama%2Boss&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1">here.

Now it gets interesting. Central Offices are geographically grouped into a Local Access Transport Area (LATA). Here’s a LATA map of the US. More than you ever wanted to know about telephone concepts can be found here, here, and here. If your call leaves your LATA, it is routed over the backbone network. The big players in the national backbone sandbox are AT&T & MCI Worldcom (Verizon.) We know where they stand.

Cell phone basics are explained here.

Did you know that Verizon's U.S. footprint covers twenty-nine states, stretching coast-to-coast from Florida to California, and encompassing the north-eastern seaboard and Washington D.C? And that Verizon also offers wireless service in forty-nine states? (I think of Verizon as the Halliburton of the telephone business.) Throw in SBC & AT&T customers, and that’s a shitload of data being collected on a lot of people.


So what do ya think, Sparky? Has the NSA tracked any of your phone calls?


on edit: to correct English

[peacetalksforall]

1. Kick Recommend. We have to become UN-STUPID!

[Debau2005]

2. Thanks, but I need help on this...

Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994. My freeper aunt sent this to me as justification for the govt being able to legally get our information. Does anyone have a rebuttal site or info I can send back. I just got her email, and am also working on this from my end.

By the way, this is Clinton's fault that we are tapped and privacy invaded because he authorized the above act...Help me put my freeper aunt back in her place!

[unhappycamper]

5. I'm not a lawyer, but I think domestic spying by NSA

is covered under the FISA Act of 1978. Hopefully someone who is qualified to answer your question will chime in.

[Debau2005]

7. I found this..

http://www.cybertelecom.org/security/calea.htm

"CALEA is not about the authority to do the tap; CALEA is about placing equipment in the network (and who pays).

The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), passed in 1994, took the unusual direction of requiring that networks and vendors must employ technology in order to permit and facilitate wiretaps. This makes the immediately ready for a wiretap when a tap is needed. It also means that the network ends up paying for the costs of the wiretap equipment instead of law enforcement (without CALEA, law enforcement must pay for the cost of the tap). These obligations traditionally have fallen upon on telecommunications carriers and vendors of equipment used by carriers. In recent times, the FCC has sought to expand this obligation to Internet over broadband service providers and VoIP."

[peacetalksforall]

3. The LATA map link is not working????

[unhappycamper]

4. Strange - it works for me..

:shrug:

[Coexist]

6. Question - My DH and I are seriously considering switching to

digital phone service because when I spoke with them, they said that since they charge a flat-rate, they don't even KEEP TRACK of my calls for themselves.

They give you a special digital phone modem. Would the above apply to this service?

[unhappycamper]

8. Yes.

Perhaps they do not collect call records at their switches, but you can bet your booties other switches capture that call info.

As soon as you go outside your LATA, your call is on Mikey's radar.

FWIW, backbone networks have been all digital for quite a while.

[Coexist]

9. thank you.

Great post, btw.

[lpbk2713]

10. Excellent post.

Let me say that as a retired telecomm tech of 35 years this is the best explanation in a nutshell I have seen on DU of how the network works.


I would only add that some users may have a false sense of security due to the type of private network they use, like BrightHouse or perhaps a large corporate network with Centrex service (they keep their own calling records) and tie lines to various cities, even VOIP, unless you call another station that is geographically close to you on the same private network you will sooner or later enter the larger network and there will be a record of it. Not necessarily verbatim, but time, date, duration, calling number, called number, route(s) taken, etc.




Ed to add: K&R

[unhappycamper]

11. Thanks - I started with New England Telephone in 1981 & retired in 2002.

I was on the IT side of the house in one way or another over my time there. I'm not a tech, but I worked on enough applications to gain an understanding of how that stuff works.

I found an interesting article called Telco Triple Play that gives an idea of the kinds of things the big guys are doing these days.

[lpbk2713]

12. You're certainly welcome.

You did very good research and provided excellent links.


I saw the writing on the wall and retired from GTE just before they ceased to exist. I spent most of my time as a Data Tech (hence the Screen Name) and in outside Special Services, the first few years of my career I was in PABX.

[iconoclastNYC]

13. Don't forget the NARUS boxes they have installed at all the major Internet

Accesspoints.

Read more here--->

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2291645&mesg_id=2291645

[sasha031]

14. I spoke of this last night, it really happened

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1220243&mesg_id=1220431



I just switched to Earthlink, but the phone line is still verizon, I did take out a cell with Working Assetts.

we are living in creepy times.

[unhappycamper]

15. I missed that thread this morning.

I did, however, cancel my Verizon cell phone yesterday.

[Canuckistanian]

16. Good post, explains a lot

K&R

[Ms. Clio]

17. k & r

thanks for the info.