A Topological Categorization of Agents for the Definition of Attack States in Multi-agent Systems

We propose a topological categorization of agents that makes use of the multiple-channel logic (MCL) framework, a recently developed model of reasoning about agents. We firstly introduce a complete formalization of prejudices on agents' attitudes and propose an extension of the rules of the MCL framework. We then use RCC5 (the Region Connection Calculus) to categorize different agents in Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) based on the collaboration, competence, and honesty of agents. We discuss the possibility of using RCC3 and RCC8 and generalize our results to define an upper bound on the number of different types of agents in MAS. Finally, we apply our topological categorization to a specific MAS that describes a Cyber-Physical System, for which we define, categorize and discuss the resulting attack states.