Patent ID: 7730521

Claim:
A method for lawfully intercepting packets of a network user within a service provider network, the method comprising: receiving intercept information for intercepting traffic of Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) network sessions with an administration device; configuring an authentication device in accordance with the intercept information; and initiating interception of packets associated with the network user from the authentication device by issuing an intercept request from the authentication device to a L2TP Access Concentrator (LAC) of the service provider network that provides access to the network user, wherein the L2TP LAC provides network access to the user by providing a L2TP tunnel to a L2TP network server located within a network of a different service provider; mirroring the packets with the LAC to form mirrored packets in response to the intercept request; and forwarding the mirrored packets with the LAC to an analyzer.