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Defining data retention PDF Print E-mail
Data retention generally refers to the storage of telephony and internet traffic and transaction data - telephone calls made and received, emails sent and received and web sites visited - by governments and commercial organizations. Location data is also collected.

According to the Directive, operators will need to retain the following categories of data in order to allow the tracing and identifying of:
  • the source and destination of a communication
  • the date, time and duration of a communication,
  • the type of communication,
  • the communication device and the location of mobile communication equipment.
Period of storage shall be not less than six months, and maximum two years from the date of communication. Accordingly, retention would not be applicable to the actual content of the communication.

Most existing systems do not comply with the new requirements
The storage of traffic data shall not be confused with the storage of records for billing or other business purposes, the aspect of collection and security requirements are different. To name a few examples, the billing system processes only the rated records and transactional data in case of flat rate services may not be processed. The mediation device does not transfer all data - filters out the terminating records, furthermore, IP and e-mail transaction data even do not reach the mediation device.

Be prepared
The Directive gives a framework to further national laws, leaving several aspects to be decided at Member State level:
  • The reimbursement of additional costs of retention
  • The technology for retaining data
  • The right to access and use data by the national authorities.
  • What should be understood as the investigation detection and prosecution of "serious crime"
National requirements and measures can vary regarding the above mentioned questions being more strict that the Directive's provisions. This provokes you to start actions right now to be prepared.

Use this opportunity as a business benefit not just regulatory compliance
 
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