Mobile Agent Security Facilities for Safe Configuration of IP Networks

Network management applications using mobile agents require secure techniques for the lifecycle of the mobile agent, from both mobile agent and host points of view. Based on the analysis of the security threats that may occur during the mobile agent based network management applications, this paper presents Mobile Agent Security Facility (MASF). MASF has several key features: 1) a secure mechanism for dispatching agents to given domains or network elements from secured agent repository; 2) provision of encrypted communication; 3) a safe mobile agents execution environment that enables mobile agents different resource access permissions according to the result of authentication and authorization; 4) logging services to record security relevant events. MASF architecture is further integrated and verified in a practical network management application, inter-domain IP VPN configuration. General Terms Management, Security