Introduction. The The transformation of crime in the context of digital technology development has created a need to adapt Human Intelligence methods to the new technological reality. Internationally, there has been a growing movement to codify rules that provide a legal foundation for undercover operations in cyberspace. The implementation of Human Intelligence methods in Russia’s digital environment presents a complex and evolving challenge, necessitating the establishment of a robust theoretical and legal foundation for its application in combating cybercrime. Methods. The conceptualisation of the cyber agent operations method was achieved via synthesis. The legitimacy and standardisation of a special regime for agent activities in the information and telecommunications environment were substantiated through an analysis of relevant United Nations legal instruments. To identify common trends in the legal regulation of agent work in cyberspace, the comparative method was applied to emerging legislative models of the United States and a number of Western European states. The determination of the boundaries of permissibility and the limits of legality for agent cyber-operations was achieved through the method of studying decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. Results. The research establishes the necessity of incorporating the method of cyber agent operations (the cyber agent method) into both scholarly and legal frameworks as a form of agent-based activity adapted to the digital environment. The research indicates that the success of such operations relies on synergizing technical tools with human intelligence, whereas their lawfulness requires explicit legal provisions, layered supervision, and compliance with the tenets of necessity, proportionality, and safeguarding fundamental rights. It is proposed to establish a framework for a Russian model of cyber-enabled human intelligence. This framework necessitates the legal recognition and regulation of a “confident” (confidential informant), including the specific conditions for their lawful deployment in the information and telecommunications environment, the implementation of a multi-tiered authorization system with dual oversight mechanisms; and the meticulous documentation of every phase of the confidents’ operational involvement; the engagement of independent supervisory and judicial mechanisms; and the protection of confidentiality alongside the prevention of impermissible provocations in countering cybercrime.