Title: Enforcing integrity of agent migration paths by distribution of trust

Authors: Martijn Warnier, Michel Oey, Reinier Timmer, Frances Brazier, Benno Overeinder

Addresses: Intelligent Interactive Distributed Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, VU University Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1081a, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands. ' Intelligent Interactive Distributed Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, VU University Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1081a, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands. ' Intelligent Interactive Distributed Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, VU University Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1081a, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands. ' Intelligent Interactive Distributed Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, VU University Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1081a, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands. ' NLnet Labs, Kruislaan 419, 1098 VA Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Abstract: Agent mobility is the ability of an agent to migrate from one location to another across a network. Though conceptually relatively straightforward, in practice security of mobile agents is a challenge: from transport layer security to preservation of integrity in open environments. This paper discusses the security issues involved and proposes protocols for secure agent migration. AgentScape, an agent platform for mobile agents, is used to illustrate the feasibility of the implementation of these protocols.

Keywords: intelligent information systems; agent-based systems; mobile agents; agent security; integrity; trust; multi-agent systems; MAS; secure agent migration; protocols.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIIDS.2009.030436

International Journal of Intelligent Information and Database Systems, 2009 Vol.3 No.4, pp.382 - 396

Published online: 16 Dec 2009 *

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