Enhancing mobile agent protection using a hybrid security framework combining pretty good protocol and code obfuscation

Abstract

The security of mobile agents, which are autonomous software entities capable of migrating between computers to execute tasks, remains a critical concern in modern information technology. Cybersecurity has been a central component of this technological revolution and continues to be one of the most essential requirements for any software or platform. Despite advances in security measures, protecting mobile agents, particularly those carrying sensitive data, while they transmit over networks remains challenging. This research proposes a novel hybrid security technique, abbreviated as pretty good privacy and code obfuscation framework (PGF), which combines pretty good privacy (PGP) with code obfuscation. PGF is designed specifically to protect mobile agents, focusing on systems like Aglets. The technique aims to safeguard the integrity and confidentiality of the agent's data during transmission. Based on the mobile agent Aglets and the PGF technique, the proposed model enhances security by introducing additional protection layers during agent creation and transmission using PGP and code obfuscation. The comparative analysis demonstrated that PGF outperformed other algorithms in terms of time efficiency and security, effectively handling large data sizes through its hybrid cryptographic approach, which combines asymmetric and symmetric encryption. The model was implemented using the Aglets framework in Java development kit (JDK) and NetBeans and showed high reliability and practicality. However, its current design is tailored to Aglets, and future work could focus on adapting the model to other platforms and optimizing its resource efficiency for constrained environments.