A multi-agent architecture for electronic payment

The Internet has brought about innumerable changes to the way enterprises do business. An essential problem to be solved before the widespread commercial use of the Internet is to provide a trustworthy solution for electronic payment. We propose a multi-agent mediated electronic payment architecture in this paper. It is aimed at providing an agent-based approach to accommodate multiple e-payment schemes. Through a layered design of the payment structure and a well-defined uniform payment interface, the architecture shows good scalability. When a new e-payment scheme or implementation is available, it can be plugged into the framework easily. In addition, we construct a framework allowing multiple agents to work cooperatively to realize automation of electronic payment. A prototype has been built to illustrate the functionality of this design. Finally we discuss the security issues

Networking lifelong learning: making it happen, an implementation plan

Presented by the FEILT committee Chair - Jenny Scribbins In April 1999 the Council’s FEILT committee (FEILTC) published its proposal information learning technology (ILT) development strategy for the sector entitled Networking Lifelong Learning. The sector response was very positive. In June 1999, FEILTC recommended to FEFC a high-level action plan to take the strategy forward. That plan was endorsed and two implementation task groups were set up with a remit to make detailed implementation proposals. This report summarises the main recommendations of the two task groups to form an implementation plan. FEILTC formally advises the Council to accept this plan as an appropriate implementation route for the ILT development strategy

Strengthening Institutions for Worker Empowerment: Capacity Building among Civil Society Organizations in China

The series Verite Works profiles initiatives to improve workplace conditions around the world. This issue describes a two year program aimed at building Civil Society Organizations (CSO) in China, with the goal of improving working conditions by enhancing understanding of labor standards and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

An Iterative and Toolchain-Based Approach to Automate Scanning and Mapping Computer Networks

As today's organizational computer networks are ever evolving and becoming more and more complex, finding potential vulnerabilities and conducting security audits has become a crucial element in securing these networks. The first step in auditing a network is reconnaissance by mapping it to get a comprehensive overview over its structure. The growing complexity, however, makes this task increasingly effortful, even more as mapping (instead of plain scanning), presently, still involves a lot of manual work. Therefore, the concept proposed in this paper automates the scanning and mapping of unknown and non-cooperative computer networks in order to find security weaknesses or verify access controls. It further helps to conduct audits by allowing comparing documented with actual networks and finding unauthorized network devices, as well as evaluating access control methods by conducting delta scans. It uses a novel approach of augmenting data from iteratively chained existing scanning tools with context, using genuine analytics modules to allow assessing a network's topology instead of just generating a list of scanned devices. It further contains a visualization model that provides a clear, lucid topology map and a special graph for comparative analysis. The goal is to provide maximum insight with a minimum of a priori knowledge.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure