외국 정보기관의 SNS를 통한 정보활동 사례분석: SNS 활용 정보원 물색 포섭 정보활동 사례

초록

Today, foreign intelligence agencies with malicious intent actively exploit the value of social networking services (SNS) as tools for espionage. SNS has become not only a primary channel and weapon for cognitive warfare and influence operations, but also a major means of intelligence collection and the recruitment of agents or collaborators. Interestingly, the recent surge in cases of foreign espionage activities conducted through SNS resembles the methods used by criminals or terrorist organizations to identify victims, recruit sympathizers, or enlist members. In other words, the same emotional and psychological techniques are employed throughout the entire process: identifying targets, building rapport, influencing thoughts and behaviors, and ultimately controlling the actions and outcomes of the targets in line with the attacker’s objectives. This paper, based on the recognition that SNS has become a central stage and instrument for malicious espionage activities, aims to investigate such cases and analyze the psychological and emotional mechanisms at work during the recruitment process by hostile intelligence actors. Compared to countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, South Korea has relatively weak awareness of the security threats posed by espionage activities through SNS. However, given Korea’s highly networked society and the vibrancy of its virtual space, the security risks posed by SNS to individuals, citizens, and the state are extremely serious. This study therefore examines cases of foreign intelligence agencies’ information activities via SNS and explores the psychological and emotional techniques and dynamics that operate in these processes. To this end, a wide range of domestic and international literature, news reports, publicly available online information, and confidential sources were utilized as sources.

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