Secret Agents - A Security Architecture for the KQML Agent Communication Language
Chelliah Thirunavukkarasu, James Mayfield, Tim Finin · 1995
KQML is a message protocol and format for software agents to communicate with each other. In this paper we discuss the security features that a KQML user would expect and an architecture to satisfy those expectations. The proposed architecture is based on cryptographic techniques and would allow agents to verify the identity of other agents, detect message integrity violations, protect confidential data, ensure non-repudiation of message origin and take counter measures against cipher attacks. 1 Introduction KQML, Knowledge Query and Manipulation Language [1] is a communication language and protocol which enables autonomous and asynchronous agents to share their knowledge and or work towards cooperative problem solving. With the popularity of internet and the possibilities offered by the agent technology we can expect an explosion of agents in the internet. For KQML to be an effective agent communication protocol in such an environment, it should provide some means for agents to comm...