This paper presents a multi-agent prototype for an electronic voting system based on optical character recognition technology. This prototype is analyzed and compared to other voting systems. Trade-offs in voter training, ease of use, security and coercion across various systems are considered for the purpose of recognizing achievable improvements. Security improvements and new capabilities are proposed based on the use of N-version programming techniques. This architecture can work with and improve security and reliability on most any algorithmic or architectural security approach. We describe how multiple agent-based technology can be applied to design and implement better voting systems. This case study demonstrates how the voter’s authentication system and vote data transmission could further simplify and improve the electoral process by adding these new capabilities to the electronic voting system using N-version programming.

A Mobile Ad-Hoc Network (MANET) is a collection of mobile nodes that are dynamically and arbitrarily located in such a way that the interconnections between nodes are capable of changing on a continual basis. The nodes of a MANET do not need any pre-existing fixed network infrastructure to exchange information among them. In order to facilitate communication within the network, a routing protocol is used to discover routes between nodes and each node incorporates routing functionality so that it can be used by other nodes in the network to transmit their packets to destinations that are out of their range. In this paper we provide an overview of five of the most frequently used ad hoc routing protocols, underlying their main advantages and drawbacks, and we propose a testbed for the evaluation of their performance in different environments.

Systems based on the use of watermarking techniques are seen in recent times as the most interesting solutions to provide means of protecting Intellectual Property Rights in electronic commerce with digital contents environments. A key aspect of this secure e-commerce environment is security. It is important to be able to evaluate and to know the security level and the risks of die system providing these type of services, specially in open networks like Internet. 'Attack trees' technique has proved valid as a methodology for studying and analyzing the security of these distributed systems, and as a mean to compare the security level of similar schemes.

When there is a need to compare the characteristics of several similar global communications systems, security is often an important factor to consider in the comparison. However, in most situations it is difficult to deduce whether a system is more secure than other; and it is even more difficult to deduce how much more secure a system is compared to another. This paper presents a method based on the use of 'attack trees' for the analysis of the security level supported by communications systems. Specifically this paper presents the most relevant aspects of the application of this method to protocols for distributing digital contents with copyright protection; to compare the security level of different systems and to obtain quantitative information about the level of security supported by each protocol.