eSIM을 통한 합법적 감청은 기존의 SIM 기반 감청에 비해 독특한 기술적 과제를 안고 있습니다. 물리적 SIM 카드에서 내장형 SIM(eSIM) 기술로의 전환은 이동통신 업계를 재편하고 있습니다. GSMA의 원격 SIM 프로비저닝(RSP) 아키텍처를 기반으로 하는 eSIM을 통해 가입자는 SIM 카드를 물리적으로 교체하지 않고도 통신사를 변경하고, 프로필을 활성화하며, 여러 가입 서비스를 관리할 수 있습니다. 소비자에게 이는 더 큰 유연성과 편의성을 의미합니다. 통신사, 특히 다음을 담당하는 이들에게는 합법적 감청 규정 준수 — eSIM은 반드시 이해하고 해결해야 할 새로운 복잡한 문제들을 야기합니다.
이 기사에서는 RSP 아키텍처가 합법적 감청에 어떤 영향을 미치는지 살펴보고, eSIM이 대상 식별 및 감청 관리에 야기하는 구체적인 과제를 파악하며, eSIM 지원 환경에서 규정 준수를 유지하고자 하는 통신 사업자를 위한 실질적인 지침을 제시합니다.
eSIM을 통한 합법적 통신 감청의 작동 원리
The GSMA RSP architecture defines the ecosystem for managing eSIM profiles. The key components include the Subscription Manager — Data Preparation (SM-DP+), which prepares and securely delivers operator profiles to eSIM devices; the Subscription Manager — Discovery Server (SM-DS), which facilitates the discovery of available profiles; the eUICC (embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card), which is the secure element within the device that hosts one or more operator profiles; and the Local Profile Assistant (LPA), which is the software on the device that manages profile download, installation, and switching. For IoT devices, GSMA SGP.31/SGP.32 replaces the user-driven LPA with a remote eSIM IoT Manager (eIM).
Under the RSP model, an operator’s profile — containing the IMSI, authentication credentials, network access configuration, and other parameters — is downloaded and installed onto the eUICC remotely. Multiple profiles can coexist on a single eUICC. Older eUICCs allow only one enabled profile at a time; since GSMA SGP.22 v3, devices supporting Multiple Enabled Profiles (MEP) can run two at once. Subscribers can switch between profiles — and effectively between operators — through a software operation on the device, without any physical intervention.
This dynamic, software-driven provisioning model is fundamentally different from the traditional physical SIM model, where the IMSI is personalised onto a card that has to be physically delivered. The implications for lawful interception are significant.
표적 식별의 과제
합법적 감청 명령은 일반적으로 MSISDN(전화번호), IMSI(가입자 식별번호), IMEI(기기 식별번호) 또는 IP 주소 등 하나 이상의 식별자를 통해 대상자를 특정합니다. eSIM 모델은 이러한 각 식별 방법을 각기 다른 방식으로 복잡하게 만듭니다.
MSISDN-based targeting is affected by the ease with which subscribers can change operators — and by extension change their MSISDN — through a simple profile switch. A target who suspects surveillance may switch to a different profile and MSISDN without a physical SIM changing hands. Similar switches have always been possible with dual-SIM phones. Each new profile still means a new subscription (in Germany, prepaid profiles require an identity check before activation, § 172(2) TKG), and its download is logged against the device’s EID. The operator that was performing the interception may lose visibility of the target entirely if the target activates a profile from a different operator.
IMSI 기반 표적 추적 역시 유사한 문제에 직면합니다. eUICC에 저장된 각 통신사 프로필은 고유한 IMSI를 가지고 있습니다. 표적이 프로필을 전환하면 다른 IMSI가 활성화되고, 원래의 IMSI는 네트워크상에서 더 이상 확인되지 않습니다. 원래 IMSI를 기반으로 통신을 감청하던 통신사 입장에서는 표적이 네트워크에서 사라진 것처럼 보일 것입니다.
IMEI-based targeting is more stable in the eSIM context, as the IMEI is associated with the device rather than the SIM profile. Note that dual-SIM and multi-profile devices carry a separate IMEI for each simultaneously active subscription, and that the network usually learns the IMEI only at registration. However, IMEI-based interception has its own limitations — it may capture communications from other users who share the device, and it does not help if the target uses multiple devices.
IP 주소 기반 타겟팅은 본질적으로 동적이며 eSIM의 영향을 특별히 받지 않지만, eSIM 환경에서 타겟팅이 전반적으로 복잡해짐에 따라 법 집행 기관은 IP 기반 식별 방식에 더 크게 의존하게 될 수 있으며, 이는 동적 할당 및 네트워크 주소 변환과 같은 고유한 과제를 수반합니다.
프로필 전환 및 가로채기 연속성
One of the most significant challenges that eSIM creates for lawful interception is the potential for interception discontinuity during profile switches. When a target switches from one operator profile to another on the same device, the interception that was active on the first operator’s network must be coordinated with a new interception on the second operator’s network. In practice, law enforcement must identify the new operator, obtain a new order and serve it there, which may take hours or days, during which the target’s communications go unmonitored.
The speed and ease of profile switching in the eSIM model — which can be accomplished in seconds on many devices — contrasts sharply with the time required to establish a new interception on a different operator’s network. This temporal gap is an investigative challenge for law enforcement rather than a compliance gap for the original operator, whose obligation ends at its own subscription and the identifiers named in the order.
Addressing this challenge requires enhanced coordination mechanisms between operators and law enforcement, potentially including automated notifications when a target’s profile is deactivated and standardised procedures for rapidly establishing interceptions on the target’s new operator. Standardised solutions are not yet widely available.
다중 프로필 및 다중 기기 시나리오
eSIM 기술은 기존의 통신 감청 방식으로는 대응하기 어려운 시나리오를 가능하게 합니다. 단일 기기 하나에 여러 통신사 프로필이 저장될 수 있으며, 이는 서로 다른 국가의 통신사 프로필일 수도 있습니다. 또한, 한 명의 가입자가 스마트폰, 태블릿, 스마트워치, 노트북 등 여러 기기에 eSIM 프로필을 보유할 수도 있습니다. 프로필과 기기의 각 조합은 감청이 필요할 수 있는 잠재적인 통신 채널을 형성합니다.
For operators, this means that the scope of an interception may extend beyond the traditional single-subscriber, single-device model. Within its own customer base, the operator should be able to tell law enforcement which other subscriptions or eSIM profiles the same customer holds, so that the order can be extended. It can intercept only the identifiers the order names.
법 집행 기관의 입장에서 볼 때, 다중 프로필 모델은 단일 감청 명령만으로는 충분하지 않을 수 있음을 의미합니다. 대상자가 여러 통신사의 네트워크에 프로필을 보유하고 있는 경우, 각 통신사에 별도의 명령을 발부해야 할 수도 있습니다. 이러한 여러 명령을 조율하여 누락 없이 완벽하게 포괄하도록 하는 과정은 수사 절차를 더욱 복잡하게 만듭니다.
LI 시스템에 대한 시사점
To maintain effective lawful interception in an eSIM environment, operators must ensure that their LI systems address several specific requirements. First, operators should understand what the network actually sees. Switching profiles happens locally on the device. The operator’s network sees it the way it sees a phone being switched off: the target’s subscription deregisters, and the existing interception reports this as IRI. The SM-DP+ is not a real-time LI source. Its value is in the records it keeps, such as which EID a profile was downloaded to, which can support disclosure requests. The LI system should not push target data to the SM-DP+, which is often operated by a third party.
Second, the LI system must support the correlation of multiple identifiers associated with the same subscriber. A target may be known by different MSISDNs, IMSIs, and IP addresses depending on which profile is active. The LI system must maintain a mapping between these identifiers and the target’s interception order, ensuring that every identifier named in the order (MSISDN, IMSI/SUPI, IMEI/PEI) is intercepted, and that law enforcement can quickly learn which further identifiers the same customer uses.
Third, the LI system should deliver the standard registration and deregistration events promptly, since a profile switch shows up on the network as the target’s subscription deregistering. This information can be valuable to law enforcement in understanding the target’s behavior and in deciding on follow-up orders.
넷째, 운영사의 영장 관리 system must be capable of handling the additional complexity introduced by eSIM. This includes the ability to modify interception parameters when the order is amended, to report promptly when a target’s subscription goes inactive, so that law enforcement can decide on follow-up orders, and to keep a complete audit trail of every order amendment, identifier change and task activation or deactivation.
규제 및 표준 동향
LI standards address the issue indirectly: identifiers are always tied to the subscription or device, not to the SIM form factor. 3GPP’s 5G LI architecture (TS 33.127/33.128) is SIM-agnostic: it intercepts by SUPI, PEI and GPSI, whether the credentials sit on a physical SIM or an eSIM profile.
National LI rules generally do not treat eSIM separately. In Germany, the TKÜV and TR TKÜV are technology-neutral: interception is tied to identifiers such as MSISDN, IMSI/SUPI and IMEI/PEI, so it applies to eSIM subscriptions exactly as to physical SIMs.
결론
eSIM technology and the RSP architecture introduce significant new challenges for lawful interception, primarily related to target identification, interception continuity, and multi-profile scenarios. These challenges are not insurmountable, but they require operators to report registration events promptly, keep reliable records linking EID, ICCID and IMSI, and answer subscriber-data requests quickly. eSIM does not change an operator’s LI obligations; it changes how quickly law enforcement needs to learn about a target’s other subscriptions.
운영자를 위한 실질적인 조치
Operators should begin by assessing their current eSIM deployment and its impact on their existing LI capabilities. This assessment should identify any gaps in target identification, interception continuity, or multi-profile handling. Based on the assessment, operators should develop a roadmap for enhancing their LI systems to address eSIM-specific challenges, prioritising the highest-risk gaps first. Prompt delivery of registration and deregistration events, and the ability to answer subscriber-data requests from the operator’s own EID, ICCID and IMSI records, are the foundation for supporting law enforcement in an eSIM environment. Operators should also engage with their national regulatory authority to understand any specific guidance or requirements related to eSIM and LI compliance, and should participate in industry forums and standards development activities to help shape the emerging solutions.
eSIM 도입이 가속화됨에 따라, eSIM에 대한 합법적 감청과 관련된 과제는 더욱 시급해질 것입니다. 통신사들은 규정 준수 로드맵에 eSIM 합법적 감청 요건을 선제적으로 반영해야 합니다.
관련 기사
관련 주제에 대한 자세한 내용은 다음 문서를 참조하세요:
- eSIM 전용 MVNO를 위한 LI: 고유한 과제와 실질적인 해결책
- MVNO와 MNO: 합법적인 감청에 대한 법적 책임은 누구에게 있나요?
- 5G SA 환경에서의 네트워크 슬라이싱: LI 타겟팅을 어떻게 복잡하게 만들며(그리고 어떻게 단순화할 수 있는가)
외부 리소스
다음 외부 리소스에서 추가 컨텍스트와 공식 문서를 확인할 수 있습니다:
