Using agents for secure access to data in the Internet

Relatively few databases are accessible over the Internet. With today's technology one would like to encapsulate a database and make it available over the Internet. A client using such databases would browse an old census database, look up references in an object-oriented database system, access descriptions and pictures over the Internet, or combine different information using NCSA Mosaic, Web, or backend databases. This article describes our experiences within the context of the DOK (distributed object kernel). This project aims to design a secure database middleware that enables users to effectively search, update, and combine information in distributed, heterogeneous environments. The DOK system uses security agents to maintain a DOK federation in a secure state. Different types of security agents are involved in the enforcement of security policies. Coordination agents are responsible for managing the whole federation, and delegate functions to more specific agents, called task agents. By delegating the access to information of local databases to database agents, task agents are able to control any access to a federation by using specifically designed security procedures.