Abstract-In this paper, we consider optimal design strategies in consensus protocols for networks vulnerable to adversarial attacks. First we study dynamic (multi-stage) weight selection optimal control for consensus protocols. For the general (multi-stage) case, the solution exists but can rarely be expressed in closed-form. In view of this, we apply optimization techniques to obtain a locally (and possibly globally) optimizing feasible control path. For the one-stage case, however, we obtain a closed-form solution for the optimal control and provide sufficient conditions for the existence of a control that makes the system reach consensus in only one iteration. We then consider a game theoretical model for the problem of a network with an adversary corrupting the control signal with noise. We derive the optimal strategies for both players (the adversary and the network designer) of the resulting game using a saddle point equilibrium (SPE) solution in mixed strategies
