A taxonomy for attacks on mobile agent

Abstract

Although attacks from a hostile environment to mobile agents have been studied, there is still no formal classification of these attacks. This paper examines possible attacks and presents a taxonomy of attacks on mobile agents in a hostile environment. Our taxonomy is complete in the sense that any possible attack is composed entirely of elements classified by the taxonomy. First, a definition of attack is introduced. Then all possible attacks on mobile agents are classified. This taxonomy is used in the analysis of existing schemes and their appropriateness when applied to certain kind of applications. It is also helpful in directing new protection schemes for mobile agents.