Patent ID: 7131142

Claim:
A computer implemented method of securing an agent community, comprising the steps of: deploying a set of interdependent security agents within an agent community, the set of interdependent security agents including a configuration agent, a distribution agent, a secure copy agent, and a patrol agent; and managing the agent community security using the security agents, wherein said step of managing the agent community comprises: deploying said configuration agent to create a security token for each agent within said agent community and to maintain a configuration list identifying agents within the agent community; deploying said distribution agent to inform said configuration agent of agents migrating to or from said agent community; deploying said secure copy agent to require a correct security token to be delivered from the configuration agent to permit the addition of a new agent to said agent community; and deploying a patrol agent to identifying unauthorized agents which are agents that are not identified on said configuration list and to advise a user upon identification of an unauthorized agent.