해외정보기관의 디지털정보 수집 법제도 분석 - 4개 중견국의 사례를 중심으로 -

The role of intelligence agency to preserve national security and interests comes to be more important and complicating since serious threats such as cyber attacks have increased all over the world due to the newly emerging information and communication technologies. Digital information collection, which plays a key role in the activities of intelligence agencies, has evolved in various forms, from passive wiretapping to active gathering methods using hacking tools. Digital information collection, on the other hand, is likely to violate fundamental human rights such as privacy. International human rights law and courts require that the rights and duties of intelligence agencies should be clearly stipulated by national legislations. Many countries have amended or reformed their laws and institutions as regards information gathering, whereas Republic of Korea has been left behind this global trend as seen the delay of cybersecurity legislations and the amendment failure of Protection of Communications Secrets Act. This article analyses the cases of four middle power states, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway, who recently revised their laws concerning intelligence collection. In doing so, this article examines the ways to effectively exert the authority and methods of information collection and to design the control system preventing its abuses in South Korea.