Using Mobile Agents Practical Application of Intelligent Agents and Multi - Agents - March 1998 1 Title : Network Security Testing Using Mobile Agents

This paper describes a prototype security testing tool that is currently under development at NIST. This prototype tool uses autonomous mobile agents to perform distributed, fault-tolerant, and adaptive network security testing. The security testing prototype is compared to existing methods, the design goals are outlined, its testing methodology is described, and the advantages and disadvantages of using mobile agents for security testing are discussed. Network Security Testing Using Mobile Agents Practical Application of Intelligent Agents and Multi-Agents March 1998 2