Abstract
In this paper we present a secure communication scheme for multiagent systems. First, we briefly introduce an architecture for multiagent systems, and discuss security problems with such systems. We then present the communication scheme in detail, including the mathematical principle and the cryptographic protocol. To further demonstrate how our communication scheme works, we present an example with which we show how a piece of plaintext message is encrypted and decrypted between two agents within a multiagent system in accordance with our communication scheme. In evaluation we show that, compared with other encryption systems such as RSA, our scheme is more simple and suitable for implementation on computers used in multiagent systems. Importantly, it remains as secure as other systems as long as the plaintext is not too short. In conclusion, we discuss issues about the management of secret keys and the suitability of the communication scheme.
Keywords
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
James A. Cooper, Computer & Communications Security-Strategies for the 1990s, pages 310–331, McGraw-Hill, 1989.
Pfleeger, Charles P., Security in Computing, pages 4–6, Prentice Hall, 1997.
Kinny D. and Georgeff, Modelling and Designing of Multi-Agent System, in Jorg P. Müller et al. (eds.) Intelligent Agent III, Springer-Verlag, LNAI 1193, pages 1–20, 1993.
Rao A.S., Georgeff M.P. (1991), Modelling rational agents within a BDI architecture, in Proceedings of KR’ 91 Conference, Cambridge, Mass, pages 473–384.
Kaynak, O., Honderd, G. and Edward G., Intelligent systems: safety, reliability and maintainability issues, NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Intelligent Systems: Safety, Reliability, and Maintainability Issues (1992: Kusadasi, Izmir, Turkey), Springer Verlag, 1993.
Boutilier C., Shoham Y. and Wellman M., Economic principles of multi-agent systems, Artificial Intelligence 94(1997), pages 1–6, Elsevier, 1997.
Wilfred C. Jamison, ACACIA: An agency based collaboration framework for heterogeneous multiagent systems, in Chengqi Z. and Lukose D. (eds.) Multi-Agent Systems-Methodologies and Applications, Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence (LNAI-1286), Springer Verlag Publishers, 1997.
T. Balch and R.C Arkin, Motor schema-based formation control for multiagent robot teams, in Proceedings of 1st International Conference on Multiagent Systems, pages 10–16, 1995.
Mark d’Inverno, Michael Luck and Michael Wooldridge, Cooperation Structures, in Proceedings of Fifteenth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, pp600–605, 1997.
Wang H., Constrained Object Hierarchies-An Architecture for Intelligent Systems, doctoral consortium abstract, in Proceedings of Fifteenth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, pp1546, 1997.
David Carmel and Shaul Markovitch, Exploration and adaptation in multiagent systems: a model-based approach, in Proceedings of Fifteenth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, pp606–611, 1997.
Wang H. and John K. Slaney, On Generalities of Intelligent Systems, Technical Report TR-ARP-05-98, Automated Reasoning Project, The Australian National University, 1998.
Wang H. and John K. Slaney, The Design of an intelligent system for retrieving and compiling information over the World Wide Web, in Proceedings of Asian Pacific Web Conference (APWeb98), Beijing, 1998.
Wang H., GISM: A Language for modelling and developing agent-based intelligent systems, in Proceedings of the Fourth Australian Workshop On Distributed Artificial Intelligence, Brisbane, also in LNAI volume 1544, Springer Verlag Publishers, 1998.
Wang H., Constrained object hierarchies—an ontology of intelligent systems, PhD thesis(under examination), The Australia National University, 1999.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1999 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Wang, H., Varadharajan, V., Zhang, Y. (1999). A Secure Communication Scheme for Multiagent Systems. In: Ishida, T. (eds) Multiagent Platforms. PRIMA 1998. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 1599. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-48826-X_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-48826-X_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-65967-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-48826-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive