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When presented with an attack graph, network administrator may raise question on how to harden the network. To defend his network, network administrator should be supplied with list of all attack paths that can compromise the network. With this list, he can decide which paths are worth paying attention to and defending against. In the event of limited resources, network administrator may only be interested in certain critical paths which cause worst network attack. Attack graph alone is not always helpful on its own and needs additional work for this purpose. In this paper we present the use of a Fuzzy Cognitive Map which is converted from attack graph with genetic algorithm to find attack scenarios causing worst impact on network security. The identified scenarios can then help network administrator to mitigate risks associated with the attack scenarios and improve his network security.

The development of the Decision Support Framework (DSF) for software testing provides a solid basis for assisting the software test manager in assessing the risk of achieving successful software testing. To further enhance the DSF, the DSF has been expanded beyond its static and dynamic analysis perspectives.

Agent-mediated e-commerce is rapidly emerging as a new paradigm to develop business intelligent systems. Such systems are built upon the foundations of agent technology with a strong emphasis on the automated negotiation capabilities. In this paper, we address negotiation problems where agreements must resolve several different attributes. We propose a one-to-many multi-issue negotiation model based on the Pareto optimal theory. The proposed model is capable of processing agents’ preferences and arriving to an optimal solution from a set of alternatives by ranking them according to the score that they achieved. We present our prototype system architecture, together with a discussion of the underlying negotiation framework. We then illustrate on our implementation efforts using the JADE and Eclipse platform. Our concluding remarks and possible further work are presented.

This paper explores new models of software agent architectures able to provide agents with subjectivity and egocentric communication patterns aiming to increase knowledge of subjective intelligent systems communication internal processes improving the design of human-intelligent agent interface tools. The new model may be applied to intelligent agent and knowledge systems adopting subjective and egocentric communication in areas such as analysis of security intelligence, legal argument analysis and intelligent web search engines.

This paper discusses a framework to assist test managers to evaluate the use of AI techniques as a potential tool in software testing. Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) are employed to evaluate the framework and make decision analysis easier. A what-if analysis is presented that explores the general application of the framework. Simulations are performed to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. The framework proposed is innovative and it assists managers in making efficient decisions.

Agent-mediated eCommerce (AMEC) is rapidly emerging as a new paradigm to develop distributed and intelligent eCommerce systems. Such systems are built upon the foundations of agent technology with a strong emphasis on the automated negotiation. In this paper, we address negotiation problems where agreements must resolve several different issues. We propose a one-to-many multi-attribute negotiation model based on the decision making theory. The proposed model is capable of processing agents’ preferences and arriving to an optimal solution from a set of alternatives by ranking them according to the score that they achieved. We present our experimental system architecture, together with a discussion of the underlying negotiation framework. We then report on our prototype implementation using the JADE and Eclipse platform and illustrate it with an example in eCommerce. Our concluding remarks and future research are presented.

This paper attempts to extend current research efforts in cloud computing by creating a value model for ICT organisations to objectively determine to invest in either cloud computing or continue investing with on premise hosting options. The model will attempt to factor ICT organisations’ business attributes, financial attributes and technical attributes to provide a balanced view. Previously the authors of this paper have proposed a Cloud Computing Tipping Point model to address these gaps in research. The author also attempts to enable the model with package of services to exchange information with 3 rd parties and agents that consumes the model. This paper attempts to validate the Cloud Computing Tipping Point model by leveraging surveys. The paper also attempts to validate the model by creating an artifact to demonstrate the model’s capability. It continues to discusses the authors attempt to enable service centric capability by leveraging service oriented architecture (SOA) concepts. This paper concludes by introducing a standard based XML taxonomy to exchange information between the model and its clients or agents.

The use of artificial intelligent (AI) techniques for testing software applications has been investigated for over a decade. This paper proposes a framework to assist test managers to evaluate the use of AI techniques as a potential tool to test software. The framework is designed to facilitate decision making and provoke the decision maker into a better understanding of the use of AI techniques as a testing tool. We provide an overview of the framework and its components. Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) are employed to evaluate the framework and make decision analysis easier, and therefore help the decision making process about the use of AI techniques to test software. What-if analysis is used to explore and illustrate the general application of the framework.

This paper examines an agent-mediated collaborative negotiation framework for e-commerce. This paper specifically focuses on travel industry. Individual customers and travel agencies will both be able to benefit from the usage of the system, since its negotiation strategies will not depend on price only, but several attributes, such as the number of rooms, the required facilities, and so on. The key issues in automating negotiation are the negotiation protocol, the negotiation object, and the negotiation strategy. Our paper addresses these issues by discussing the development of an agent-mediated e-commerce system using the FIPA compatible agent development framework, the JADE platform. Finally we provide our conclusions and discuss possible future work.

An agent-based system is characterised by an agent's autonomous behaviour, which behaviour is the main difference between the concepts of agent and object. Agent autonomous behaviour is the ability of an agent to cooperate instead of integrate; therefore, the structure of agent-based systems consists of loosely coupled agents. In such an environment, the relationship between the agents is unlocked, so conventional, predefined integration software techniques are not an option because the agents need an open-architecture type of integration (cooperation) to achieve their tasks jointly. The aim of this research paper is to provide an evidence of how the ontology approach can play a role in modelling agent autonomous behaviour. The research explores the ontology software technologies used for semantic web applications, and designs a case study as an example of a set of services. In the implementation phase, the research uses the web ontology software development languages XML, RDFS, OWL, and Altova semanticWork to set up and develop the case study. The result is presented and plans for future work are discussed.

Agent systems differ from more traditional software systems because agents are intended to be independent autonomous, reactive, pro-active and sociable software entities. Due to these unique characteristics developing agent systems has been a very challenging task for agent researchers and application developers. JADE (Java Agent DEvelopment Framework) is an agent development tool, implemented in JAVA and FIPA-compliant. Although JADE provides all the mandatory components (FIPA) for the development of autonomous agents, it lacks the ability to include intelligent behaviour to individual agents. JESS (Java Expert System Shell), a rule-based programming environment written in Java, provides a powerful tool for developing systems with intelligent reasoning abilities. This paper examines the use of both JADE and JESS for the development intelligent agent systems and shares the experience of the authors in the development of a Personal Travel Assistant (PTA).

A novel agent based protocol for computer and network security based on multifactor fusion of passwords and facial biometrics for user authentication is proposed in this paper. The protocol uses multiple factors for authentication involving a combination of passwords and face biometric template on the smart card and the user workstation. The biometric match is performed by a module running on the user's workstation, authenticated by a mobile agent coming from a reliable server. The proposed protocol uses the current cryptographic tokens without requiring any hardware or software changes.

Agent-Oriented Software Development is one of the recent contributions to the field of Software Engineering. To date numerous methodologies for agent-oriented software development have been proposed in the literature. However, their application to real-world problems is still limited due to their lack of maturity. Evaluating their strengths and weaknesses is an important step towards developing better methodologies in the future. This paper presents research results obtained by applying three agent-oriented methodologies, namely ROADMAP, MaSE and Prometheus in the context of an E-commerce system. The results are presented and future work is discussed.

Agent technology has been claimed to be a promising tool for creating e-commerce applications. To develop a multi-agent e-commerce system effectively, the developers have to deal with several issues such as agent characteristics, agent functionalities, protocols, communication, cooperation and coordination. JADE (Java Agent Development Environment), an open source software framework, is currently the state-of-the-art tool used for developing multi-agent systems. In this paper, our aim is to present our experience in designing and developing an e-commerce multi-agent system with JADE. Our objective is realised through the presentation of the analysis, design and implementation phases of an agent software system we currently develop in the context of travel industry. We will also discuss some lessons we have learned in using the JADE platform.

This paper gives an overview of agents and its importance in various applications for decision support. A brief description of a typology of agent standards, and relevant technologies in health care are summarized. A summary of our current research work conducted at the Medical Informatics research laboratory on multi-agent architecture is presented. Results from a multi-agent prototype developed for scheduling meetings is discussed and how the architecture can be extended to model health care management for chronic ailments is briefly presented.

Multicriteria optimization is a useful and challenging activity in many disciplines. It provides decision makers with tools for producing better decisions while saving time in the decision process. In the past, computers have assisted in achieving several advancements in the field of multicriteria optimization. In spite of the rapid development of multicriteria optimization techniques, their applications to real world problems have not been legion. There can be many reasons for a decision maker to avoid numerical optimization techniques and resort to conventional trial and error methods based on judgement, intuition and experience. Decision makers who are not experts in optimization techniques usually experience difficulties while using conventional optimization systems. The aim of this chapter is to show how knowledge-based systems technology can be used to overcome some of the shortcomings of earlier optimization systems. It is illustrated how knowledge-based approaches attempt to make multicriteria optimization an easier tool for decision makers to use.

The early uses of computers in engineering and architecture were for analysis. Later it was realised that certain classes of design decision processes could be represented algorithmically and hence automated. The first of these processes made use of the iterative model of design. This was extended to direct design procedures based on optimization models. In this, however, analysis methods were not supplanted but continued to play a subordinate role in design. The widespread availability of symbolic programming languages coupled with formal knowledge representation techniques is beginning to allow us to incorporate specific knowledge into design decision processes. This incorporation was not previously achievable with such ease because of the non-numeric nature of much of the knowledge.