Encrypting Java Archives and Its Application to Mobile Agent Security

In this article we describe an extension of Java Archives that allows to keep data encrypted for multiple recipients. Encrypted data is accessible only by selected access groups. Java archives may be used as containers of mobile agents, which allows agents to keep confidential data unaccessible while residing on untrusted hosts. However, additional protective measures are required in order to prevent Cut & Paste attacks on mobile agents by malicious hosts. One such mechanism is described. The usefulness of the concepts is illustrated by an example application for user profile management in an electronic commerce setting.