Agent Network System (ANS): A Foundational Hybrid Architecture for Secure AI Agent Ecosystems¶

Core Mechanisms for High Performance Discovery, Multi-Level Trust, and Confidential Verification

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Executive Summary¶

ANS provides a unified framework for AI agents to discover, verify, and connect with each other. This is crucial as agents proliferate across organisations and domains. ANS uses both fast, centralised services (for quick lookups) and a decentralised blockchain layer (for trust and verification).

Just as DNS maps hostnames to addresses, ANS lets agents look up other agents’ identities and capabilities via human readable identifiers. This infrastructure enables a new ecosystem of interoperable AI agents that can collaborate across organisational boundaries while maintaining strong trust guarantees.

We detail the ANS architecture, operations, trust model, and key algorithms so that developers and contributors can build consistent, interoperable implementations.

Glossary and Terminology¶

A2A (Agent-to-Agent Protocol): Google's protocol that defines standards for direct communication between AI agents, focusing on message exchange formats and interaction patterns.

ABAC (Attribute-Based Access Control): A security model that grants access based on attributes associated with users, resources, and environmental conditions.

ACP (Agent Communication Protocol): IBM Research's specification for standardizing agent communication, including delegation and orchestration mechanisms.

AIBOM (AI Bill of Materials): A structured format documenting an AI agent's components, similar to a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) but specific to AI systems, including models, datasets, and training processes.

ANS (Agent Network System): The protocol and infrastructure described in this specification, enabling AI agents to discover, verify, and connect with each other.

AP2 (Agent Payments Protocol): The Agent Payments Protocol integrated with ANS for secure, trustworthy payment interactions between AI agents, requiring blockchain-level trust verification.

Blockchain Registry: The decentralized ledger component of ANS that provides immutable records of agent registrations and verifications.

CRDT (Conflict-Free Replicated Data Type): Data structures that can be replicated across multiple computers in a network, edited concurrently, and automatically resolved.

DID (Decentralized Identifier): A W3C standard for verifiable, self-sovereign digital identities that don't require a centralized registration authority.

DNS-SD (DNS-Based Service Discovery): A protocol that uses DNS records to discover services available on a network.

gRPC: A high performance, open source remote procedure call (RPC) framework that can run in any environment.

MCP (Model Context Protocol): A protocol standard for AI models to access and utilize external tools and services.

Merchant Agent: An AI agent capable of accepting payments and providing goods or services, verified for compliance within the AP2 ecosystem.

OpenAPI: A specification for building, documenting, and consuming RESTful web services.

Payment Processor: An entity responsible for handling the financial settlement of transactions between agents in the AP2 ecosystem.

SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language): An open standard for exchanging authentication and authorisation data between parties.

SBOM (Software Bill of Materials): A formal record containing the details and supply chain relationships of various components used in building software.

Shopping Agent: An AI agent that initiates purchases and payments on behalf of a user, requiring discovery and verification of merchants via ANS.

OIDC (OpenID Connect): An identity layer built on top of the OAuth 2.0 protocol for authentication.

ZKP (Zero-Knowledge Proof): A cryptographic method allowing one party to prove to another that a statement is true without revealing any additional information beyond the validity of the statement itself.

1. Introduction¶

1.1 The AI Agent Discovery Challenge¶

As AI agents become increasingly sophisticated and widespread, they need reliable mechanisms to find and verify each other. Consider these scenarios:

• A sales agent needs to locate procurement agents at partner organisations
• A consumer agent needs to verify the authenticity of a service provider's agent
• A developer creating a specialised agent needs to discover existing agents for potential integration

These examples show that agents must locate and trust each other across different organisations. A global discovery system is needed to make this scalable and reliable.

1.2 Limitations of Current Approaches and Emerging Protocols¶

While the vision of interconnected AI agents is compelling, current and emerging approaches to agent discovery and interaction face significant limitations when aiming for a global, interoperable, and trustworthy ecosystem:

Emerging Communication Protocols Highlight the Discovery Gap:

• A2A (Google): Google’s A2A protocol defines how agents communicate after discovery, but it does not include a discovery service. Without ANS, A2A-based systems would fall back on manual setup or proprietary directories, which do not scale and create silos.
• MCP (a protocol for AI models to use external tools): MCP standardises how AI models use external tools, but it lacks a global registry. As a result, tool discovery often stays within predefined sets or requires custom integrations, limiting flexibility.
• IBM Research’s ACP (Agent Communication Protocol) IBM Research's ACP, aiming to standardise broader agent communication including delegation and orchestration, also presupposes a method for agents to find and verify each other, especially across organisational boundaries. Without a universal discovery and verification layer like ANS, ACP implementations could face challenges in moving beyond platform specific directories or manual setups for establishing trusted interactions.

Persistent General Limitations:

• Centralised Directories (Proprietary or Platform Specific): Many existing solutions rely on centralised directories, which can become single points of failure, raise concerns about data control and trust in the directory provider, and often create walled gardens that hinder cross-ecosystem interoperability.
• Manual Configuration: Relying on developers to manually configure agent endpoints and trust relationships is not scalable for the dynamic and rapidly growing agent ecosystems envisioned. It's error-prone and slow.
• Ad-hoc Integration: Custom, one-off integrations between specific agents or platforms lead to fragmented silos, significantly limiting broader interoperability and the network effects of a connected agent economy.
• Lack of Standardised, Robust Verification: Most systems today have no common, secure way to verify an agent’s identity or capabilities. ANS introduces cryptographic and multi level verification to fill this gap.

These limitations underscore the critical need for a foundational infrastructure like the Agent Network System (ANS), designed to provide standardised, secure, and verifiable discovery across diverse agent platforms and protocols.

1.3 The ANS Model¶

The Agent Network System addresses these challenges through a hybrid architecture that provides:

• Global Discovery: A unified system for agent lookup by name or capability
• Verifiable Trust: Multi-level verification from basic to blockchain-based
• High Performance: Milliseconds-level lookups at global scale
• Open Standards: Vendor-neutral protocols for broad ecosystem adoption
• Resilient Design: No single points of failure for critical infrastructure
• Sovereignty Support: Allows organisations to run regional instances so they control their agent data

2. Core Principles¶

ANS is based on the following design principles, which guide all implementations.

2.1 Hybrid Architecture¶

ANS combines centralised components for performance with decentralised systems for trust, creating an architecture that delivers the best of both worlds.

Implementations of ANS MUST adhere to this hybrid model, incorporating both high performance lookup capabilities and decentralised trust verification. This dual approach enables both the speed required for efficient agent discovery and the strong trust guarantees needed for secure operation.

For instance, an ANS deployment might use fast cloud servers for lookups, while recording trust attestations on a public blockchain.

2.2 Progressive Trust¶

ANS specifies a multi level approach to trust, allowing implementations to balance performance needs with security requirements for different use cases.

Implementations MUST support multiple verification levels, with progressively stronger security guarantees. This enables agents to:

1. Start with basic verification for non critical interactions
2. Progress to higher verification levels for more sensitive operations
3. Adopt blockchain based verification for mission critical applications

Basic = simple signatures (fast), Standard = checks by other authorities, Blockchain = consensus based proof (highest security).

2.3 Performance First¶

The ANS architecture prioritises high throughput, low latency operations for the most common use case: looking up agents by name or capability.

Compliant implementations SHOULD achieve milliseconds-level response times for cached lookups and optimise for the read heavy workload of agent discovery. Performance considerations MUST NOT compromise security for critical operations.

2.4 Zero-Trust Security¶

ANS embodies zero-trust principles, with no implicit trust between components or participants and continuous verification at all levels of the system.

Implementations MUST verify every request, regardless of source, and SHOULD implement defence in depth through multiple security layers. All verification claims MUST be cryptographically verifiable.

For example, even internal services in ANS must authenticate and authorise every request.

2.5 Global Distribution¶

ANS is designed for worldwide deployment with geographically distributed components to minimise latency for all users.

Implementations SHOULD support global distribution of both centralised and decentralised components, ensuring low-latency access from any region while respecting data sovereignty requirements.

2.6 Sovereignty Enablement¶

The ANS architecture MUST provide mechanisms that enable data sovereignty for participating entities. Implementations SHOULD support:

• Configuration of data residency boundaries
• Cryptographic controls for sensitive data
• Integration points with existing security infrastructure
• Clear delineation of control boundaries for agent data

These capabilities are essential to maintain organisational sovereignty while participating in the broader agent ecosystem.

2.7 Extensible Federation¶

ANS supports interconnection between multiple ANS implementations across organisational boundaries.

The specification MUST define clear federation protocols that enable distinct ANS deployments to share discovery information whilst respecting policy constraints. Implementations SHOULD support configurable federation policies.

This means e.g. two companies running separate ANS registries can choose to share certain agent data, subject to access policies.

3. System Architecture¶

The Agent Network System (ANS) is designed with a hybrid, three-layer architecture to balance performance, trust, and decentralization. Figure 1 provides a high-level overview of these layers and their primary components, showing how users and agents interact with the system primarily through the Registry Gateway, which then orchestrates operations across the different layers.

graph TB
 %% Users
 U[Users / Agents]
 %% Centralised Components
 subgraph CEN[Centralised High Performance Layer]
 RG[Registry Gateway]
 HL[(High Performance DB)]
 Cache[(Global Cache)]
 AM[Authentication Service]
 MM[Monitoring & Metrics]
 end
 %% Bridge Components
 subgraph BRG[Hybrid Bridge Layer]
 SE[Synchronisation Engine]
 CR[Conflict Resolution]
 TC[Trust Verification Protocol]
 PD[Policy Distribution]
 end
 %% Decentralised Components
 subgraph DEC[Decentralised Trust Layer]
 BC[Blockchain Registry]
 DV[Distributed Validators]
 SC[Smart Contracts]
 RS[Reputation System]
 ZKP[Zero-Knowledge Proofs]
 end
 %% Centralised Connections
 RG --- HL
 RG --- Cache
 RG --- AM
 RG --- MM
 %% Bridge Connections
 RG --- SE
 SE --- CR
 RG --- TC
 RG --- PD
 SE --- BC
 TC --- DV
 PD --- SC
 %% Decentralised Connections
 BC --- DV
 BC --- SC
 DV --- RS
 BC --- ZKP
 %% User Operations
 U -->|Lookup| RG
 U -->|Deregister| RG
 U -->|Register| RG
 U -->|Verify| RG
 U -->|Policies| RG

Figure 1: ANS Three-Layer Architecture (Centralised, Bridge, Decentralised)

Figure 1 illustrates the three layer architecture: a Centralised High Performance Layer for fast queries, a Bridge Layer for synchronization/trust, and a Decentralised Trust Layer for blockchain services.

Users/agents interact with the Registry Gateway in the centralised layer, which communicates through the bridge layer to the blockchain based decentralised layer.

3.1 Centralised High Performance Layer¶

This layer MUST be optimised for speed and scalability, handling the highest volume of operations and serving as the primary interface for agent discovery.

3.1.1 Registry Gateway¶

The Registry Gateway MUST:

• Serve as the entry point for all ANS operations
• Implement API endpoints for lookup, registration, verification, and policy management
• Provide rate limiting and abuse prevention
• Route requests to appropriate backend services based on operation type (lookup, register, etc.)
• Support regional routing for data sovereignty requirements

3.1.2 High Performance Database¶

The High Performance Database component MUST:

• Store agent records with milliseconds access times
• Implement horizontal sharding for scalability to billions of records
• Support replication with regional controls for data residency
• Be optimised for read heavy workloads of agent lookups
• Support both global and regional deployment models

3.1.3 Global Cache Layer¶

The Global Cache Layer MUST:

• Cache frequently accessed agent records for even faster retrieval
• Be distributed across global regions for minimal latency
• Implement intelligent invalidation strategies
• Reduce database load for popular queries
• Support regional restrictions for compliance

3.1.4 Authentication Service¶

The Authentication Service MUST:

• Verify identity of agents and users accessing the system
• Issue time-limited access tokens
• Enforce granular access control policies
• Provide integration interfaces for identity providers (SAML, OIDC)
• Support role-based and attribute-based access control

3.1.5 Monitoring & Metrics System¶

The Monitoring & Metrics System MUST:

• Provide real-time observability into system health
• Track performance metrics for operational management
• Enable automatic circuit breaking for degraded components
• Support alerting and proactive recovery
• Expose metrics dashboards for system operators
• Implement distributed tracing for end-to-end visibility of operations

3.2 Hybrid Bridge Layer¶

This middle layer MUST bridge the centralised and decentralised components, ensuring consistency, trust, and policy enforcement across the system. This layer acts as a translator and synchroniser between the fast database and the blockchain, ensuring they do not drift.

3.2.1 Synchronisation Engine¶

The Synchronisation Engine component MUST maintain consistency between high performance database and blockchain registry. It SHALL handle different update cadences and latency requirements.

Implementations MUST support granular consistency models with per-attribute configuration:

• Strong consistency MUST be used for identity and trust-critical claims
• Bounded consistency SHOULD be used for capability updates and metadata
• Eventual consistency MAY be used for non-critical attributes

The Synchronisation Engine MUST provide multiple synchronisation methods:

• Standard synchronisation for efficiency (batch operations)
• Priority synchronisation for expedited critical operations
• Emergency synchronisation for immediate security concerns

The Synchronisation Engine MUST:

• Ensure verified records in the database match blockchain state
• Implement Conflict-Free Replicated Data Types (CRDTs) for appropriate attribute types to minimise conflicts
• Handle backpressure with robust queuing mechanisms for blockchain congestion
• Periodically post Merkle roots of synced records to the blockchain for external verification
• Provide cryptographic proofs that centralised database accurately reflects blockchain state

The following algorithm defines the core synchronisation operation. This algorithm ensures that any new or updated agent record in the database is correctly propagated to the blockchain (or vice versa) according to its priority.

ALGORITHM SynchronizeRecord(record, priorityLevel)
 // Input: record to synchronize, priority level (standard, priority, emergency)
 // Output: synchronization result with status and proofs

 BEGIN
 // 1. Determine consistency requirements based on attribute types
 consistencyRequirements ← GetConsistencyRequirements(record)

 // 2. Validate record structure and signature
 IF NOT ValidateRecord(record) THEN
 RETURN SyncResult(FAILED, "Invalid record format or signature")
 END IF

 // 3. Apply local validation rules
 validationResult ← ValidateLocalRules(record)
 IF NOT validationResult.success THEN
 RETURN SyncResult(FAILED, validationResult.reason)
 END IF

 // 4. Check for conflicts with existing records
 conflicts ← DetectConflicts(record)
 IF conflicts.exists AND priorityLevel != EMERGENCY THEN
 // Pass to conflict resolution if not emergency
 resolution ← ConflictResolutionModule.Resolve(record, conflicts)
 IF resolution.action == ABORT THEN
 RETURN SyncResult(FAILED, resolution.reason)
 ELSIF resolution.action == MODIFY THEN
 record ← ApplyResolutionChanges(record, resolution.changes)
 END IF
 END IF

 // 5. Determine synchronization method based on priority
 syncMethod ← SelectSyncMethod(priorityLevel, consistencyRequirements)

 // 6. Apply local database update with appropriate isolation level
 dbResult ← UpdateLocalDatabase(record, consistencyRequirements.localIsolationLevel)
 IF NOT dbResult.success THEN
 RETURN SyncResult(FAILED, dbResult.reason)
 END IF

 // 7. Submit to blockchain based on synchronization method
 IF syncMethod == IMMEDIATE THEN
 blockchainResult ← SubmitToBlockchainImmediate(record)
 waitForConfirmation ← TRUE
 ELSIF syncMethod == PRIORITY THEN
 blockchainResult ← SubmitToBlockchainPriority(record)
 waitForConfirmation ← TRUE
 ELSE // STANDARD
 blockchainResult ← QueueForBlockchainSubmission(record)
 waitForConfirmation ← FALSE
 END IF

 // 8. For immediate/priority sync, wait for blockchain confirmation
 IF waitForConfirmation THEN
 confirmationResult ← WaitForBlockchainConfirmation(blockchainResult.txId, TIMEOUT)
 IF NOT confirmationResult.success THEN
 // Record partially synced state
 RecordPartialSync(record, dbResult, blockchainResult)
 RETURN SyncResult(PARTIAL, "Blockchain confirmation timeout", dbResult.proof)
 END IF
 END IF

 // 9. Generate cryptographic proof linking database state to blockchain
 IF waitForConfirmation THEN
 proof ← GenerateCryptographicProof(record, blockchainResult.txId)
 ELSE
 proof ← GenerateProvisionalProof(record, blockchainResult.queueId)
 END IF

 // 10. Return successful result with appropriate proofs
 RETURN SyncResult(SUCCESS, NULL, proof)
 END

3.2.2 Conflict Resolution Module¶

The Conflict Resolution Module MUST implement hierarchical resolution strategies for state conflicts with clear scope of authority:

• Trust claims: Blockchain state is authoritative (revocation on blockchain always overrides availability in HP DB)
• Availability status: HP DB state is authoritative for temporarily unavailable agents only
• Capability updates: Time-based resolution with configurable thresholds for automatic vs. manual review

Implementations MUST:

• Provide audit trails for all conflict resolutions
• Support customisable rules for specific deployment needs
• Automatically escalate critical conflicts to system operators
• Implement risk scoring to trigger mandatory manual review

The following algorithm defines the conflict resolution process:

ALGORITHM ResolveConflict(newRecord, existingRecord)
 // Resolves conflicts between a new record and existing record
 // Returns resolution action and changes if any
 BEGIN
 // Initialize resolution result
 resolution ← {
 "action": "PROCEED", // Default action
 "reason": "",
 "changes": [],
 "audit_trail": {
 "timestamp": CurrentTimestamp(),
 "conflict_type": "",
 "resolution_rule_applied": "",
 "confidence": 1.0
 }
 }

 // 1. Check for trust claim conflicts (highest priority)
 trustClaimConflicts ← DetectTrustClaimConflicts(newRecord, existingRecord)
 IF trustClaimConflicts.exists THEN
 // For trust claims, blockchain state is always authoritative
 IF existingRecord.source == "BLOCKCHAIN" AND existingRecord.status == "REVOKED" THEN
 resolution.action ← "ABORT"
 resolution.reason ← "Blockchain shows trust revocation"
 resolution.audit_trail.conflict_type ← "TRUST_CLAIM"
 resolution.audit_trail.resolution_rule_applied ← "BLOCKCHAIN_AUTHORITATIVE"
 resolution.audit_trail.confidence ← 1.0

 // Log critical trust conflict
 LogCriticalConflict("TRUST_REVOCATION_OVERRIDE_ATTEMPT", newRecord, existingRecord)

 RETURN resolution
 END IF
 END IF

 // 2. Check for availability status conflicts (second priority)
 availabilityConflicts ← DetectAvailabilityConflicts(newRecord, existingRecord)
 IF availabilityConflicts.exists THEN
 // For temporary availability, HP DB state is authoritative
 IF newRecord.source == "HPDB" AND 
 newRecord.availability_status == "TEMPORARILY_UNAVAILABLE" AND
 existingRecord.availability_status == "AVAILABLE" THEN

 resolution.action ← "PROCEED"
 resolution.audit_trail.conflict_type ← "AVAILABILITY_STATUS"
 resolution.audit_trail.resolution_rule_applied ← "HPDB_AUTHORITATIVE_FOR_TEMPORARY"
 resolution.audit_trail.confidence ← 0.9

 RETURN resolution
 END IF
 END IF

 // 3. Check for capability update conflicts (third priority)
 capabilityConflicts ← DetectCapabilityConflicts(newRecord, existingRecord)
 IF capabilityConflicts.exists THEN
 // Apply time-based resolution for capability updates
 timeDelta ← TimeElapsedBetween(existingRecord.timestamp, newRecord.timestamp)

 IF timeDelta < CAPABILITY_AUTO_RESOLVE_THRESHOLD THEN
 // Recent update, choose newer by default
 IF newRecord.timestamp > existingRecord.timestamp THEN
 resolution.action ← "PROCEED"
 ELSE
 resolution.action ← "ABORT"
 resolution.reason ← "Newer capability definition already exists"
 END IF

 resolution.audit_trail.conflict_type ← "CAPABILITY_UPDATE"
 resolution.audit_trail.resolution_rule_applied ← "TIME_BASED_AUTO_RESOLUTION"
 resolution.audit_trail.confidence ← 0.8
 ELSE
 // Significant time difference requires manual review for high-risk operations
 riskScore ← CalculateRiskScore(newRecord, existingRecord, capabilityConflicts)

 IF riskScore > MANUAL_REVIEW_THRESHOLD THEN
 resolution.action ← "ESCALATE"
 resolution.reason ← "High-risk capability changes require manual review"
 resolution.audit_trail.conflict_type ← "CAPABILITY_UPDATE"
 resolution.audit_trail.resolution_rule_applied ← "RISK_BASED_ESCALATION"
 resolution.audit_trail.confidence ← 0.5

 // Trigger manual review workflow
 TriggerManualReview(newRecord, existingRecord, capabilityConflicts, riskScore)
 ELSE
 resolution.action ← "PROCEED"
 resolution.audit_trail.conflict_type ← "CAPABILITY_UPDATE"
 resolution.audit_trail.resolution_rule_applied ← "RISK_BASED_AUTO_RESOLUTION"
 resolution.audit_trail.confidence ← 0.7
 END IF
 END IF

 RETURN resolution
 END IF

 // 4. Default case: no critical conflicts
 resolution.action ← "PROCEED"
 RETURN resolution
 END

In essence, if the blockchain says an agent is revoked, that decision wins (algorithm aborts). Otherwise, availability issues defer to the database state, and capability changes are resolved by timestamps or manual review.

3.2.3 Trust Verification Protocol¶

The Trust Verification Protocol MUST:

• Implement multi-level verification mechanisms
• Coordinate with distributed validators for trust establishment
• Provide cryptographic proofs of verification
• Support different verification strength based on use case needs
• Enable dynamic trust negotiation for agent-to-agent communication
• Verify selective disclosure proofs for privacy-preserving verification
• Implement decentralised trust source prioritisation with validator reputation weighting
• Issue short-lived, context-specific attestations to reduce verification overhead

The following algorithm defines the validator consensus verification process:

ALGORITHM VerifyWithValidators(agentId, claimsToVerify, requiredConsensus)
 // Verify agent claims through distributed validator network
 // requiredConsensus: minimum number of validators required to agree (0.0-1.0)
 BEGIN
 // 1. Prepare verification request
 verificationRequest ← {
 "agent_id": agentId,
 "claims_to_verify": claimsToVerify,
 "request_id": GenerateUUID(),
 "timestamp": CurrentTimestamp(),
 "requester": GetServiceIdentity()
 }

 // 2. Sign the verification request
 signedRequest ← SignMessage(verificationRequest, SERVICE_PRIVATE_KEY)

 // 3. Select validators based on reputation and availability
 eligibleValidators ← SelectEligibleValidators(MIN_REPUTATION_THRESHOLD, MIN_REQUIRED_VALIDATORS)

 // 4. Submit verification request to validators
 validatorResponses ← []
 responsePromises ← []

 FOR EACH validator IN eligibleValidators DO
 promise ← AsyncSubmitVerificationRequest(validator, signedRequest)
 responsePromises.append(promise)
 END FOR

 // 5. Wait for sufficient responses (with timeout)
 validatorResponses ← WaitForResponses(responsePromises, VERIFICATION_TIMEOUT)

 // 6. Calculate consensus
 validResponses ← FilterValidResponses(validatorResponses)

 IF validResponses.length < MIN_REQUIRED_VALIDATORS THEN
 RETURN {
 "verified": false,
 "reason": "Insufficient validator responses",
 "validator_count": validResponses.length,
 "minimum_required": MIN_REQUIRED_VALIDATORS
 }
 END IF

 // 7. Process verification results by claim
 claimResults ← {}

 FOR EACH claim IN claimsToVerify DO
 // Count validators confirming this claim
 validatorsConfirming ← CountValidatorsConfirming(validResponses, claim)
 consensusLevel ← validatorsConfirming / validResponses.length

 // Calculate weighted consensus based on validator reputation
 weightedConsensus ← CalculateWeightedConsensus(validResponses, claim)

 claimResults[claim] ← {
 "verified": weightedConsensus >= requiredConsensus,
 "consensus_level": consensusLevel,
 "weighted_consensus": weightedConsensus,
 "validator_count": validatorsConfirming,
 "attestations": ExtractAttestations(validResponses, claim)
 }
 END FOR

 // 8. Determine overall verification result
 allClaimsVerified ← true

 FOR EACH claim, result IN claimResults DO
 IF NOT result.verified THEN
 allClaimsVerified ← false
 BREAK
 END IF
 END FOR

 // 9. Return the verification result
 RETURN {
 "verified": allClaimsVerified,
 "claim_results": claimResults,
 "validator_responses": validResponses.length,
 "timestamp": CurrentTimestamp()
 }
 END

3.2.4 Policy Distribution Module¶

The Policy Distribution Module MUST:

• Allow registration and distribution of agent interaction policies
• Implement policy evaluation during verification operations
• Support standardised policy language for machine-readable controls
• Provide policy conflict detection and resolution
• Enable granular access control for sensitive operations
• Support policy versioning with rollback capabilities
• Offer policy simulation/dry-run mode for impact analysis
• Generate compliance reporting for policy adherence

Policies are stored in the central database and referenced during verification (with hashes logged on-chain), ensuring that every agent-to-agent interaction checks against the right rules.

3.3 Decentralised Trust Layer¶

This layer MUST provide strong trust guarantees through blockchain technology and distributed validation. This includes: Blockchain Registry, Distributed Validators, Smart Contracts, Validator Reputation, and Zero-Knowledge Proofs.

3.3.1 Blockchain Registry¶

The Blockchain Registry MUST:

• Store immutable records of agent registrations and claims
• Provide tamper-proof verification history
• Enable third-party verification of agent identities
• Support multiple blockchain options (public, permissioned) Status: not yet implemented
• Implement cost-efficient transaction batching for high-volume operations
• Utilise L2 scaling solutions (state channels, rollups) for frequent updates
• Maintain full auditability of all trust-critical operations

3.3.2 Distributed Validators¶

The Distributed Validators (e.g. a node run by an organisation) component MUST:

• Provide a network of nodes that validate agent claims
• Be geographically and organisationally diverse for trust
• Reach consensus on verification of critical agent attributes
• Provide cryptographic attestations of validation
• Support managed validator deployment options
• Participate in reputation system to incentivise honest behaviour
• Be subject to slashing conditions for malicious behaviour
• Support integration with specific validation oracles
• Provide transparent evidence for validator slashing decisions

3.3.3 Smart Contracts¶

The Smart Contracts component MUST:

• Encode verification rules and governance in blockchain code
• Manage verification states and proofs
• Automate validation processes
• Implement incentive mechanisms for validators
• Support extensible verification mechanisms
• Enforce slashing conditions for validator misbehaviour
• Provide transparent governance for system parameters
• Record publicly auditable evidence for validator slashing

3.3.4 Validator Reputation System¶

Status: Under Development

The Validator Reputation System MUST:

• Track validator performance and reliability over time
• Affect validator influence in consensus decisions
• Consider factors like uptime, accuracy, and response time
• Provide economic incentives for maintaining high reputation
• Enable network participants to select validators based on reputation
• Detect and penalise collusion attempts

This ensures that validators with a history of accurate attestations have more influence in consensus decisions.

3.3.5 Zero-Knowledge Proof System¶

Status: Under Development

The Zero-Knowledge Proof System MUST:

• Enable privacy-preserving verification of agent attributes
• Allow selective disclosure of capabilities without revealing sensitive details
• Support verification of compliance without exposing implementation details
• Provide cryptographic commitments to private attributes
• Integrate with verification protocol for seamless privacy controls
• Issue short lived attestations for specific interaction contexts

For example, an agent could prove it has a certified capability level without revealing the underlying data.

3.4 Standards Alignment and Interoperability¶

ANS is designed to integrate with existing standards and protocols to maximise compatibility and adoption:

3.4.1 DID (Decentralised Identifier) Integration¶

ANS agent identifiers SHOULD be mappable to DID specifications:

 {
 "agent_id":"my-agent.example.ans",
 "did":{
 "id":"did:ans:abc123xyz456",
 "controller":"did:web:example.com",
 "verification_method":[
 {
 "id":"did:ans:abc123xyz456#key-1",
 "type":"Ed25519VerificationKey2020",
 "controller":"did:web:example.com",
 "public_key_multibase":"z6MkhaXgBZDvotDkL5257faiztiGiC2QtKLGpbnnE_example"
 }
 ]
 }
 }

Example: An ANS agent record with a corresponding Decentralized Identifier (DID)

3.4.2 DNS-SD Integration¶

For service discovery via DNS:

_ans._tcp.<domain> IN SRV 0 0 <port> <hostname>
_ans._tcp.<domain> IN TXT "agentId=<agent_id>" "capabilities=<cap1,cap2>"

This shows how an agent could publish its ANS service via DNS Service Discovery, using a standard SRV record and TXT metadata (with an ANS-specific prefix).

3.4.3 gRPC Service Discovery¶

For programmatic service discovery:

 syntax="proto3";
 packageans.discovery;

 serviceANSDiscovery{
 rpcLookup(LookupRequest)returns(LookupResponse){}
 rpcRegister(RegisterRequest)returns(RegisterResponse){}
 rpcVerify(VerifyRequest)returns(VerifyResponse){}
 }

 messageLookupRequest{
 stringquery=1;
 repeatedstringcapabilities=2;
 stringtrust_level=3;
 PolicyRequirementspolicy_requirements=4;
 }
 // Additional message definitions omitted for brevity

3.4.4 OpenAPI Specification¶

ANS SHOULD expose a standardised API described in OpenAPI:

 openapi:3.0.0
 info:
 title:Agent Network System API
 version:1.0.0
 paths:
 /lookup:
 post:
 summary:Look up agents by name, capability, or other attributes
 requestBody:
 content:
 application/json:
 schema:
 $ref:'#/components/schemas/LookupRequest'
 responses:
 '200':
 description:Successful lookup
 content:
 application/json:
 schema:
 $ref:'#/components/schemas/LookupResponse'

 components:
 schemas:
 LookupRequest:
 type:object
 properties:
 query:
 type:string
 description:Name or capability to search for
 capabilities:
 type:array
 items:
 type:string
 description:List of required capabilities
 trust_level:
 type:string
 enum:[basic,standard,blockchain]
 description:Minimum trust level required

4. Core Operations¶

The ANS system exposes five primary operations (e.g., lookup, register, deregister, verify, policy management).

4.1 Lookup¶

The most common operation, used to discover agents by name, capability, or other attributes. When an agent calls Lookup, the request goes through the Registry Gateway, which checks cache and then DB, returning agent details.

sequenceDiagram
 User->>Registry Gateway: lookup(agent_name or capability)
 Registry Gateway->>Authentication Service: Authenticate request
 Registry Gateway->>Cache Layer: Check for cached results
 alt Cache Hit
 Cache Layer->>Registry Gateway: Return cached agents
 else Cache Miss
 Registry Gateway->>High Performance DB: Query for agents
 High Performance DB->>Registry Gateway: Agent records
 Registry Gateway->>Cache Layer: Update cache
 end
 Registry Gateway->>User: Return agent list with endpoints

Figure 2: Lookup Operation Sequence Diagram

Figure 2 illustrates the flow of an agent lookup request initiated by a user/agent to the Registry Gateway, which then interacts with the Authentication Service, Cache Layer, and High Performance Database to retrieve and return agent details.

4.1.1 Lookup API¶

 // Request
 {
 "method":"lookup",
 "params":{
 "query":"sales-assistant",
 "capabilities":["customer_support","product_recommendation"],
 "trust_level":"verified",
 "limit":10,
 "policy_requirements":{
 "verification_level":"standard",
 "capabilities":["secure_messaging"]
 }
 }
 }

 // Response
 {
 "status":"success",
 "results":[
 {
 "agent_id":"nia.example.ans",
 "name":"Nia Sales Assistant",
 "description":"AI sales assistant for Example Corp",
 "organization":"Example Corp",
 "endpoints":{
 "a2a":"https://nia-sales.example.com/a2a",
 "mcp":"https://nia-sales.example.com/mcp"
 },
 "capabilities":["sales_support","product_recommendation"],
 "verification":{
 "level":"verified",
 "timestamp":"2025-05-17T14:22:31Z",
 "blockchain_proof":{
 "transaction_id":"0x8a7d53b7cc7e9c2f11d0306e6c67896512aa7e81a6cf82f5db74c82fb1e0c161",
 "block_number":15783922
 }
 },
 "policy_compatibility":true// agent meets the policy requirements
 },
 // Additional results...
 ],
 "total_matches":24,
 "next_page_token":"eyJwYWdlIjogMiwgImxpbWl0IjogMTB9"
 }

4.2 Register¶

Used to publish an agent's existence, capabilities, and endpoints to the ANS system. Registering an agent with ANS involves several steps to ensure data integrity and appropriate verification. The workflow, detailed in Figure 3, begins with a request to the Registry Gateway and proceeds through provisional recording and a comprehensive verification process that may involve the blockchain layer.

sequenceDiagram
 User->>Registry Gateway: register(agent_details, capabilities, proof)
 Registry Gateway->>Authentication Service: Authenticate request
 Registry Gateway->>High Performance DB: Check for existing agent
 Registry Gateway->>High Performance DB: Store provisional record
 alt Critical Registration
 Registry Gateway->>Synchronisation Engine: Submit for priority verification
 else Standard Registration
 Registry Gateway->>Synchronisation Engine: Submit for standard verification
 end
 Registry Gateway->>User: Provisional registration confirmation
 Synchronisation Engine->>Blockchain Registry: Publish verification request
 Note over Blockchain Registry,Distributed Validators: Verification process
 alt Using Zero-Knowledge Proofs
 Blockchain Registry->>Zero-Knowledge Proof System: Verify private claims
 Zero-Knowledge Proof System->>Blockchain Registry: Proof verification result
 end
 Blockchain Registry->>Synchronisation Engine: Verification result
 Synchronisation Engine->>High Performance DB: Update verification status
 Synchronisation Engine->>User: Verification complete notification

Figure 3: Registration Operation Sequence Diagram

Depicts the process of an agent registering with ANS, from the initial request to the Registry Gateway, provisional storage in the High Performance DB, and subsequent verification steps involving the Synchronisation Engine, Blockchain Registry, and potentially the Zero-Knowledge Proof System. Full registration is contingent upon successful verification.

[!Note] Full registration isn’t complete until validators confirm.

4.2.1 Registration API¶

 // Request
 {
 "method":"register",
 "params":{
 "agent_id":"my-agent.example.ans",
 "name":"My Agent",
 "description":"Specialised support agent",
 "organization":"Example Corp",
 "capabilities":["document_processing","customer_support"],
 "endpoints":{
 "a2a":"https://my-agent.example.com/a2a",
 "rest":"https://my-agent.example.com/api/v1",
 "policy_negotiation":"https://my-agent.example.com/policy/negotiate"
 },
 "verification_level":"blockchain",
 "public_key":"-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----\nMIIBIjANBgkqhkiG9w0B...\n-----END PUBLIC KEY-----",
 "data_residency":["us","eu"],
 "critical_registration":true,
 "private_claims":{
 "capability_proofs":{
 "financial_transactions_level_3":"<ZKP commitment>",
 "regulatory_compliance":"<ZKP commitment>"
 }
 },
 "supply_chain":{
 "aibom_url":"https://sbom.example.com/agent-components.json",
 "aibom_hash":"sha256:a1b2c3d4e5f6...",
 "verification_attestations":[
 {
 "type":"iso27001",
 "issuer":"CertCo Inc",
 "certificate_id":"ISO27001-2024-1234",
 "validity_url":"https://certco.com/verify/ISO27001-2024-1234",
 "valid_until":"2026-05-18T00:00:00Z"
 },
 {
 "type":"nist_aiml_framework",
 "issuer":"AISecure Labs",
 "report_id":"NIST-AIML-5678",
 "validity_url":"https://aisecurelabs.com/verify/NIST-AIML-5678"
 }
 ]
 }
 }
 }

 // Response
 {
 "status":"success",
 "registration":{
 "agent_id":"my-agent.example.ans",
 "provisional_status":"registered",
 "verification_pending":true,
 "verification_id":"ver_78a92bcd",
 "estimated_verification_time":"30s",
 "data_residency_confirmed":["us","eu"],
 "private_claims":{
 "commitments_recorded":2
 },
 "attestation_verification":{
 "status":"in_progress",
 "verification_id":"att_ver_912ecdf"
 }
 }
 }

4.3 Deregister¶

Agents can be removed from the registry, or have specific capabilities revoked, through the deregister operation. Figure 4 outlines this process, which ensures that changes are reflected in both the centralized and decentralized layers of ANS.

sequenceDiagram
 User->>Registry Gateway: deregister(agent_id, proof_of_ownership, params)
 Registry Gateway->>Authentication Service: Authenticate and verify ownership
 alt Full Deregistration
 Registry Gateway->>High Performance DB: Mark agent as deregistered
 Registry Gateway->>Cache Layer: Invalidate cache entries
 Registry Gateway->>User: Full deregistration confirmation
 else Partial Capability Revocation
 Registry Gateway->>High Performance DB: Revoke specific capabilities
 Registry Gateway->>Cache Layer: Update cached capabilities
 Registry Gateway->>User: Partial revocation confirmation
 end
 Registry Gateway->>Synchronisation Engine: Submit deregistration to blockchain
 Synchronisation Engine->>Blockchain Registry: Record deregistration with reason
 Blockchain Registry->>Synchronisation Engine: Confirmation

Figure 4: Deregistration Operation Sequence Diagram.

Shows the steps for removing an agent or revoking its capabilities. The process is initiated at the Registry Gateway, involves updates to the High-Performance DB and cache, and is finalized by the Synchronisation Engine recording the deregistration on the Blockchain Registry.

4.3.1 Deregistration API¶

 // Request
 {
 "method":"deregister",
 "params":{
 "agent_id":"my-agent.example.ans",
 "proof_of_ownership":{
 "signature":"a9b8c7d6e5f4...",
 "timestamp":"2025-05-18T10:45:12Z"
 },
 "emergency":false,
 "reason_code":"planned_retirement",
 "revocation_type":"full",// or "partial"
 "capabilities_to_revoke":["financial_transaction"],// only if type is "partial"
 "event_id":"evt_deregister_1a2b3c4d"// for correlation with systems
 }
 }

 // Response
 {
 "status":"success",
 "deregistration":{
 "agent_id":"my-agent.example.ans",
 "status":"deregistered",
 "timestamp":"2025-05-18T10:45:15Z",
 "revocation_type":"full",
 "reason_code":"planned_retirement",
 "blockchain_confirmation_pending":true,
 "event_id":"evt_deregister_1a2b3c4d"
 }
 }

4.4 Verify¶

Confirming an agent's authenticity and capabilities is achieved through the verify operation. As depicted in Figure 5, a verification request is made to the Registry Gateway, which then orchestrates the verification through the Trust Verification Protocol, engaging different system components based on the depth of verification required.

sequenceDiagram
 User->>Registry Gateway: verify(agent_id, verification_level, context)
 Registry Gateway->>Authentication Service: Authenticate request
 Registry Gateway->>Trust Verification Protocol: Forward verify request
 alt Basic Verification
 Trust Verification Protocol->>High Performance DB: Check digital signatures
 High Performance DB->>Trust Verification Protocol: Signature data
 Trust Verification Protocol->>User: Basic verification result
 else Standard Verification
 Trust Verification Protocol->>High Performance DB: Get verified claims
 High Performance DB->>Trust Verification Protocol: Claim data
 Trust Verification Protocol->>User: Standard verification with attestations
 else Blockchain Verification
 Trust Verification Protocol->>Blockchain Registry: Request on-chain verification
 alt Private Claims Verification
 Blockchain Registry->>Zero-Knowledge Proof System: Verify selective disclosure
 Zero-Knowledge Proof System->>Blockchain Registry: ZKP verification result
 end
 Blockchain Registry->>Smart Contracts: Execute verification logic
 Smart Contracts->>Blockchain Registry: Verification result
 Blockchain Registry->>Trust Verification Protocol: Complete verification data
 Trust Verification Protocol->>Policy Distribution Module: Check policy compliance
 Policy Distribution Module->>Trust Verification Protocol: Policy evaluation result
 alt Contextual Attestation Requested
 Trust Verification Protocol->>Zero-Knowledge Proof System: Generate context-specific attestation
 Zero-Knowledge Proof System->>Trust Verification Protocol: Attestation token
 Trust Verification Protocol->>User: Complete verification with attestation token
 else Standard Verification
 Trust Verification Protocol->>User: Complete verification with proof
 end
 end

Figure 5: Verification Operation Sequence Diagram.

Illustrates the agent verification process initiated by a user/agent via the Registry Gateway. The Registry Gateway routes the request to the Trust Verification Protocol, which then coordinates with components like the High Performance DB, Blockchain Registry, Zero-Knowledge Proof System, and Policy Distribution Module depending on the required verification level and context.

4.4.1 Verification API¶

 // Request
 {
 "method":"verify",
 "params":{
 "agent_id":"nia.example.ans",
 "verification_level":"blockchain",
 "required_claims":["identity","organization","capabilities"],
 "interaction_context":"financial_transaction",
 "requesting_agent":{
 "id":"my-agent.example.ans",
 "proof":"<signature_of_request>"
 },
 "private_claim_requests":[
 "financial_transactions_level_3"
 ],
 "verify_capabilities":["payment_processing"],
 "contextual_attestation":{
 "requested":true,
 "valid_duration":"15m",
 "use_context":"payment_session_12345"
 },
 "event_id":"evt_verify_9z8y7x6w"
 }
 }

 // Response
 {
 "status":"success",
 "verification_result":{
 "agent_id":"nia.example.ans",
 "verified":true,
 "verification_level":"blockchain",
 "claims_verified":[
 "identity",
 "organization",
 "capabilities",
 "endpoints"
 ],
 "capability_verification":{
 "payment_processing":{
 "verified":true,
 "attestation_sources":["trusted_validator_1","trusted_validator_3"]
 }
 },
 "private_claims":{
 "financial_transactions_level_3":{
 "verified":true,
 "proof":"<ZKP_verification>"
 }
 },
 "policy_compliance":{
 "compliant":true,
 "policy_id":"pol_fin_transactions_v2"
 },
 "blockchain_proof":{
 "transaction_id":"0x8a7d53b7cc7e9c2f11d0306e6c67896512aa7e81a6cf82f5db74c82fb1e0c161",
 "block_number":15783922,
 "timestamp":"2025-05-17T14:22:31Z"
 },
 "contextual_attestation":{
 "token":"eyJhbGciOiJFUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9...",
 "valid_until":"2025-05-18T11:30:00Z",
 "scope":"payment_session_12345"
 },
 "valid_until":"2025-08-17T14:22:31Z",
 "event_id":"evt_verify_9z8y7x6w"
 }
 }

4.5 Policy Management¶

ANS allows agents to publish and manage interaction policies. Figure 6 illustrates the sequence for setting a policy, starting with a request to the Registry Gateway and ensuring the policy is stored and its commitment recorded on the blockchain.

sequenceDiagram
 User->>Registry Gateway: set_policy(agent_id, policy_definition)
 Registry Gateway->>Authentication Service: Authenticate and verify ownership
 Registry Gateway->>Policy Distribution Module: Validate policy structure
 Policy Distribution Module->>High Performance DB: Store policy
 Registry Gateway->>User: Policy confirmation
 Registry Gateway->>Synchronisation Engine: Submit policy for blockchain recording
 Synchronisation Engine->>Blockchain Registry: Record policy hash
 Blockchain Registry->>Smart Contracts: Register policy commitment
 Smart Contracts->>Blockchain Registry: Policy registration confirmation
 Blockchain Registry->>Synchronisation Engine: Confirmation

Figure 6: Policy Management Operation Sequence Diagram

Details the process for publishing or updating an agent's interaction policies. A user/agent submits the policy via the Registry Gateway, which then involves the Authentication Service, Policy Distribution Module, High Performance DB, and the Synchronisation Engine to record the policy hash on the Blockchain Registry.

4.5.1 Policy Management API¶

 // Request
 {
 "method":"set_policy",
 "params":{
 "agent_id":"my-agent.example.ans",
 "proof_of_ownership":{
 "signature":"a9b8c7d6e5f4...",
 "timestamp":"2025-05-18T10:45:12Z"
 },
 "policy":{
 "id":"pol_interaction_v1",
 "version":1,
 "description":"Interaction policy for financial transactions",
 "required_verification_level":"blockchain",
 "required_capabilities":["secure_messaging"],
 "allowed_interaction_types":["a2a_session","verified_query"],
 "allowed_organizations":["trusted-partner.com","*.verified-financial.org"],
 "required_attestations":["financial_transactions_level_2"],
 "data_handling":{
 "data_residency":["us","eu"],
 "retention_period":"30d",
 "purpose_limitation":["transaction_processing"]
 },
 "dynamic_negotiation":{
 "enabled":true,
 "negotiable_parameters":["retention_period","purpose_limitation"],
 "non_negotiable_parameters":["required_verification_level","required_attestations"]
 }
 },
 "event_id":"evt_policy_2b3c4d5e"
 }
 }

 // Response
 {
 "status":"success",
 "policy_result":{
 "agent_id":"my-agent.example.ans",
 "policy_id":"pol_interaction_v1",
 "policy_version":1,
 "policy_hash":"sha256:f1e2d3c4b5a6...",
 "status":"active",
 "timestamp":"2025-05-18T10:46:22Z",
 "blockchain_confirmation_pending":true,
 "event_id":"evt_policy_2b3c4d5e"
 }
 }

5. Trust and Verification Mechanisms¶

5.1 Multi-Level Verification¶

The ANS system MUST support multiple verification levels to accommodate different trust requirements:

The following algorithm defines the progressive trust implementation, formalising the transition between trust levels: Agents start at their current verification level and can step up through Basic → Standard → Blockchain checks until the target level is reached.

ALGORITHM VerifyAgentWithProgressiveTrust(agentId, targetLevel, requiredClaims)
 // Verifies an agent progressing through trust levels as needed
 // targetLevel: "basic", "standard", or "blockchain"
 BEGIN
 agent ← GetAgentRecord(agentId)

 IF agent == null THEN
 RETURN {
 "verified": false,
 "reason": "Agent not found",
 "level_achieved": "none"
 }
 END IF

 // Start with current verification level
 currentLevel ← agent.verification_level || "none"
 verification ← {
 "verified": false,
 "level_achieved": currentLevel,
 "claims_verified": [],
 "proofs": {}
 }

 // If already at or above target level, validate it's still valid
 IF TrustLevelRank(currentLevel) >= TrustLevelRank(targetLevel) THEN
 verificationResult ← ValidateExistingTrustLevel(agent, currentLevel, requiredClaims)

 IF verificationResult.verified THEN
 verification.verified ← true
 verification.claims_verified ← verificationResult.claims_verified
 verification.proofs ← verificationResult.proofs
 RETURN verification
 ELSE
 // Existing level invalid, attempt to rebuild from lower level
 currentLevel ← "none"
 END IF
 END IF

 // Step 1: Achieve Basic verification if needed
 IF TrustLevelRank(currentLevel) < TrustLevelRank("basic") AND
 TrustLevelRank(targetLevel) >= TrustLevelRank("basic") THEN

 basicResult ← VerifyBasicLevel(agent, requiredClaims)

 IF NOT basicResult.verified THEN
 verification.reason ← basicResult.reason
 RETURN verification
 END IF

 currentLevel ← "basic"
 verification.level_achieved ← "basic"
 verification.claims_verified ← basicResult.claims_verified
 verification.proofs.basic ← basicResult.proofs

 // If target was basic, we're done
 IF targetLevel == "basic" THEN
 verification.verified ← true
 RETURN verification
 END IF
 END IF

 // Step 2: Achieve Standard verification if needed
 IF TrustLevelRank(currentLevel) < TrustLevelRank("standard") AND
 TrustLevelRank(targetLevel) >= TrustLevelRank("standard") THEN

 standardResult ← VerifyStandardLevel(agent, requiredClaims)

 IF NOT standardResult.verified THEN
 // Still maintain basic verification
 verification.reason ← standardResult.reason
 RETURN verification
 END IF

 currentLevel ← "standard"
 verification.level_achieved ← "standard"
 verification.claims_verified ← [...verification.claims_verified, ...standardResult.claims_verified]
 verification.proofs.standard ← standardResult.proofs

 // If target was standard, we're done
 IF targetLevel == "standard" THEN
 verification.verified ← true
 RETURN verification
 END IF
 END IF

 // Step 3: Achieve Blockchain verification if needed
 IF TrustLevelRank(currentLevel) < TrustLevelRank("blockchain") AND
 TrustLevelRank(targetLevel) >= TrustLevelRank("blockchain") THEN

 blockchainResult ← VerifyBlockchainLevel(agent, requiredClaims)

 IF NOT blockchainResult.verified THEN
 // Still maintain previous verification level
 verification.reason ← blockchainResult.reason
 RETURN verification
 END IF

 currentLevel ← "blockchain"
 verification.level_achieved ← "blockchain"
 verification.claims_verified ← [...verification.claims_verified, ...blockchainResult.claims_verified]
 verification.proofs.blockchain ← blockchainResult.proofs

 verification.verified ← true
 END IF

 // Update agent record with new verification status
 UpdateAgentVerificationStatus(agent.id, verification)

 RETURN verification
 END

5.2 Trust Establishment Process¶

The ANS model specifies a comprehensive trust establishment process including:

• Identity Verification: Confirm ownership of agent domain or identifier
• Capability Verification: Validate claimed capabilities through testing
• Endpoint Verification: Ensure advertised endpoints are legitimate
• Organisational Verification: Link to verified organisation identity
• Distributed Consensus: Achieve validator agreement on verification
• Supply Chain Validation: Verify AI and software components (AIBOM/SBOM)
• Development Practices Attestation: Validate secure development lifecycle adherence
• Private Claim Verification: Verify sensitive claims using zero-knowledge proofs
• Attestation Verification: Validate industry certifications and external audits against registries

These steps MUST be implemented through formalised processes as defined in the Progressive Trust Algorithm.

5.3 Progressive Trust Enhancement¶

ANS empowers requesters to select the appropriate level of verification for their interactions. This ranges from rapid, potentially zero-cost checks for basic assurance, to highly secure, consensus driven validation for critical operations. Higher levels of verification, such as those involving blockchain consensus, offer the strongest trust guarantees but may also introduce greater latency and transactional costs (e.g., gas fees). The choice depends on the specific security needs, risk tolerance, and performance requirements of the interaction. Figure 7 outlines these available verification levels, each offering progressively stronger trust guarantees.

graph LR
 A[Unverified] -->|Basic Checks| B[Basic Verification]
 B -->|Enhanced Checks| C[Standard Verification]
 C -->|Blockchain Consensus| D[Blockchain Verification]
 D -->|ZKP Private Claims| E[Enhanced Privacy Verification]
 style A fill:#ffcccc
 style B fill:#ffffcc
 style C fill:#ccffcc
 style D fill:#ccccff
 style E fill:#e6ccff

Figure 7: Available Verification Levels for Agent Interactions

This diagram illustrates the spectrum of verification levels that a user or agent can request when interacting with another agent via ANS.

5.4 Rapid Revocation Mechanism¶

ANS implementations MUST provide an emergency revocation mechanism to quickly respond to compromised agents with these capabilities:

• Immediate Centralised Revocation: Instant flagging in high performance layer
• Cache Invalidation Broadcast: Rapid invalidation of cached entries
• Blockchain Confirmation: Permanent record of revocation with proof and reason code
• Notification Distribution: Alert to affected parties
• Audit Trail Generation: Comprehensive logging of revocation events
• Partial Capability Revocation: Ability to revoke specific capabilities while maintaining others
• Standardised Reason Codes: Clear indication of revocation reason for informed decision-making
• Endorsement Revocation: Clear mechanism for revoking third-party capability endorsements

5.5 Privacy Preserving Verification¶

ANS MUST enable verification without exposing sensitive details:

• Selective Disclosure: Agents can prove they possess certain attributes without revealing the details
• Zero-Knowledge Proofs: Cryptographic verification of compliance with requirements
• Private Attestations: Trusted third parties can verify attributes and issue attestations
• Capability Commitments: Cryptographic commitments to capabilities that can be selectively revealed
• Contextual Attestations: Short-lived, context-specific proofs for peer-to-peer interactions

These features allow agents to prove attributes (like licenses or certifications) without revealing private data.

5.6 AI Supply Chain Verification¶

To ensure trust in the software behind agents, ANS supports detailed supply chain checks.

ANS SHOULD provide mechanisms to verify the components of AI agents:

• AI Bill of Materials (AIBOM): Standardised format for documenting AI components
• Model Provenance: Verification of base models, training processes, and datasets
• Vulnerability Tracking: Integration with vulnerability databases to flag known issues
• Development Practice Attestations: Verification of secure development methodologies
• AIBOM Hash Verification: Blockchain records of AIBOM hashes for tamper evidence
• Attestation Verification: Validation of external certificates against certification registries
• Supply Chain Risk Assessment: Automated scoring of supply chain security posture

6. Security and Governance Capabilities¶

6.1 Data Residency and Sovereignty¶

Pending legal review

ANS must support keeping agent data within specific regions or jurisdictions.

The ANS architecture MUST support data sovereignty through:

• Regional deployment capabilities for the high performance layer
• Configurable data replication boundaries
• Metadata tagging for regional restrictions
• Cryptographic controls for sensitive fields
• Compliance with regulatory frameworks
• Audit trails for data access across regions
• Federated private instances for maximum sovereignty
• Data minimisation by design for cross-instance federation
• Support for customisable encryption key management
• Federation Policy Control with fine-grained sharing rules across ANS instances

6.2 Identity Integration¶

ANS implementations SHOULD provide interfaces for integration with identity systems:

• Integration interfaces for common directory services
• Support for SAML 2.0 and OIDC federation
• Role-based access control for agent management
• Attribute-based access policies
• Delegated administration for large organisations
• Just-in-time access provisioning
• Privileged access management
• Standardised user/group provisioning interfaces
• Conditional access integration

This allows ANS to plug into existing enterprise identity systems.

6.3 Access Control¶

The ANS model MUST define fine-grained permission structures:

• Resource-level permissions for agent objects
• Operation-level controls (read, register, update, deregister)
• Time-bound access grants
• Context-aware authorisation
• Hierarchical permission models
• Emergency access procedures
• Least privilege enforcement
• Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) for dynamic, context-aware authorisation
• Break-Glass Procedures with comprehensive logging for emergency scenarios

6.4 Validator Governance¶

The ANS model MUST specify validator governance mechanisms:

• Validator node deployment standards
• Industry-specific validation consortia framework
• Custom validation rule implementation
• Verification record management
• Cross-organisational trust frameworks
• Governance participation procedures
• Reputation calculation methodology
• Private Validation Oracle integration standards
• Staking/slashing mechanism standards with transparent evidence requirements

6.5 Auditability Framework¶

ANS MUST provide comprehensive security monitoring capabilities:

• Detailed audit logs for all operations
• Security monitoring integration
• Anomaly detection for suspicious activity
• Real-time security alerts
• Compliance reporting dashboards
• Standardised event IDs for cross-system correlation
• Immutable blockchain logs of critical operations
• Standardised Audit Log Formats
• API Call Tracing with distributed tracing across all microservices
• Behavioural analytics interfaces for detecting anomalous patterns

6.6 Policy-Based Interaction Control¶

ANS MUST enable organisations to control agent interactions through:

• Standardised policy language (e.g. JSON, XACML) Status: Under Development
• Runtime policy enforcement
• Organisation-level policy templates
• Policy inheritance hierarchies
• Contextual policy evaluation
• Compliance verification
• Policy conflict resolution
• Policy Versioning and Rollback for change management
• Policy Simulation/Dry-Run to test impact before enforcement
• Policy Compliance Reporting for governance and audit

7. Protocol Integration¶

7.1 A2A Protocol Integration¶

ANS significantly enhances agent-to-agent communication protocols like A2A by providing robust discovery and verification mechanisms. Figure 8 illustrates a typical flow where an agent leverages ANS to securely establish an A2A session with another verified agent, potentially including the use of contextual attestations and dynamic policy negotiation.

sequenceDiagram
 Agent A->>ANS: Lookup agents with A2A capability
 ANS->>Agent A: Return A2A-compatible agents
 Agent A->>ANS: Verify Agent B identity and policy
 ANS->>Agent A: Verification and policy result
 alt Policy Check Successful
 alt Contextual Attestation Requested
 Agent A->>ANS: Request contextual attestation
 ANS->>Agent A: Return short-lived attestation token
 Agent A->>Agent B: A2A initiate(context, attestation)
 Agent B->>Agent B: Verify attestation locally
 else Standard Flow
 Agent A->>Agent B: A2A initiate(context)
 Agent B->>ANS: Verify Agent A identity
 ANS->>Agent B: Verification result
 end
 Agent B->>Agent A: A2A accept(context)
 alt Dynamic Policy Negotiation
 Agent A->>Agent B: Policy negotiation(params)
 Agent B->>Agent A: Policy response(accepted_params)
 end
 Agent A->>Agent B: A2A communication
 else Policy Check Failed
 Agent A->>Agent A: Abort connection attempt
 end

Figure 8: ANS-Enhanced A2A Protocol Integration Flow

Example flow showing how an agent (Agent A) uses ANS for discovery and verification of another agent (Agent B), potentially requesting a contextual attestation, before initiating an Agent-to-Agent (A2A) communication session. The flow also includes optional dynamic policy negotiation.

ANS enhances the A2A protocol through:

• Discovery: Finding A2A-compatible agents by capability
• Verification: Establishing trust before A2A connection
• Policy Enforcement: Ensuring agents only connect according to defined policies
• Capability Matching: Identifying compatible A2A feature sets
• Dynamic Trust Negotiation: Contextual trust decisions during A2A handshakes
• Cross-Organisational Trust: Enabling A2A communication across organisation boundaries
• Dynamic Capability Discovery: Support for agent-advertised capability discovery endpoints
• Contextual Attestations: Short-lived verification tokens for specific interaction contexts
• Dynamic Policy Exchange/Negotiation: Support for session-specific policy negotiation

prototype phase

• Policy Negotiation Endpoints: Specialised endpoints for dynamic policy negotiation

prototype phase

7.2 MCP Protocol Integration¶

Agent finds and uses a Model-as-a-Tool via MCP, using ANS to verify the server. For AI models interacting with external tools via the Model Context Protocol (MCP), ANS provides a crucial layer for discovering and verifying MCP servers. Figure 9 depicts how an agent can use ANS to find suitable MCP tools and establish a trusted connection with the MCP server.

sequenceDiagram
 Agent->>ANS: Lookup MCP tools by capability
 ANS->>Agent: Return matching MCP servers
 Agent->>ANS: Verify MCP server identity and policy
 ANS->>Agent: Verification and policy result
 alt Policy Check Successful
 alt Contextual Attestation Available
 Agent->>MCP Server: Connect with attestation token
 MCP Server->>MCP Server: Verify attestation locally
 else Standard Verification
 Agent->>MCP Server: Connect to MCP endpoint
 MCP Server->>ANS: Verify Agent identity
 ANS->>MCP Server: Verification result
 end
 MCP Server->>Agent: Tool capabilities
 alt Dynamic Policy Negotiation
 Agent->>MCP Server: Policy negotiation(params)
 MCP Server->>Agent: Policy response(accepted_params)
 end
 Agent->>MCP Server: Execute tool operations
 else Policy Check Failed
 Agent->>Agent: Abort connection attempt
 end

Figure 9: ANS-Enhanced MCP Protocol Integration Flow

Illustrates how an agent uses ANS to discover and verify an MCP server and its tools. The process can include policy checks, contextual attestations, and dynamic policy negotiation before the agent connects to the MCP endpoint to execute tool operations.

ANS enhances the MCP protocol through:

• Tool Discovery: Finding appropriate MCP tools for specific tasks
• Server Verification: Verifying MCP server authenticity
• Capability Exchange: Learning available operations from verified servers
• Policy-Based Access: Enforcing access policies for MCP tools
• Interaction Policy Discovery: Learning usage rules before connection
• Trust-Based Authorisation: Adjusting tool access based on verified trust level
• Dynamic Capability Endorsement: Supporting verified third-party endorsements of capabilities
• Contextual Attestations: Short-lived verification tokens for specific interaction contexts
• Capability Endorsement Revocation: Clear mechanism for revoking third-party endorsements
• Dynamic Policy Exchange: Support for session-specific policy negotiation

7.3 Standardised Capability Taxonomy¶

ANS defines a standard taxonomy so that agents can advertise known capabilities in a common way. ANS MUST implement a standardised taxonomy for agent capabilities with governance mechanisms. The following is a sample structure for such a taxonomy.

 {
 "capability_taxonomy":{
 "version":"2.0",
 "governance":{
 "authority":"ANS Capability Standards Committee",
 "change_process":"https://ans.io/governance/capability-taxonomy",
 "review_cycle":"quarterly"
 },
 "a2a":{
 "protocols":["a2a_v1","a2a_v2"],
 "streaming":true,
 "supported_artifacts":["text","image","code","custom_formats"],
 "security_levels":["basic","enhanced","zero_trust"]
 },
 "mcp":{
 "tool_types":["filesystem","database","api","websearch","code_execution"],
 "supported_formats":["text/plain","application/json","image/*"],
 "authentication_methods":["token","oauth","api_key"]
 },
 "dynamic_capabilities":{
 "discovery_endpoint":"https://agent-id.example.ans/capabilities",
 "discovery_authorization":"bearer|oauth|signature",
 "update_frequency":"daily|weekly|on-demand",
 "verification_mechanism":"signature|validator_attestation|blockchain"
 },
 "capability_endorsement":{
 "endorsers":["trusted_verifier_1","industry_consortium_A"],
 "endorsement_mechanism":"blockchain|signature|attestation",
 "revocation_mechanism":"blockchain|revocation_list|time_bound",
 "verification_endpoint":"https://endorsement.example.ans/verify"
 }
 }
 }

7.4 Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) Integration¶

ANS now provides foundational discovery and verification services for the Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), enabling secure, trustworthy payment interactions between AI agents. This integration addresses the critical need for verifiable identity and trust in financial transactions within agentic ecosystems.

7.4.1 AP2-Specific Discovery Patterns¶

ANS extends its discovery mechanisms to identify AP2-capable agents through specialized capability annotations:

 {
 "agent_id":"merchant-payment-processor.ans",
 "capabilities":{
 "protocols":["AP2/v1.0"],
 "ap2:roles":["merchant","payment_processor","shopping_assistant"],
 "ap2:payment_methods":["card","crypto","digital_wallet"],
 "ap2:settlement_speed":["realtime","batch"],
 "ap2:fraud_detection":true,
 "ap2:compliance_level":"PCI_DSS_4.0"
 },
 "trust_level":"blockchain",
 "aibom_hash":"sha256:abc123..."
 }

Key AP2 Discovery Features:

• Role-based filtering: Discover agents by AP2-specific roles (merchant, payment processor, shopping assistant, escrow agent)
• Capability matching: Query for agents supporting specific payment methods, settlement speeds, or fraud detection features
• Compliance verification: ANS validators verify PCI DSS, AML, and other regulatory attestations
• Transaction limit declarations: Agents publish maximum transaction values they can process

7.4.2 Enhanced Trust Model for Financial Transactions¶

AP2 integration mandates Blockchain-level trust as the minimum requirement for payment-capable agents, with additional layers:

AP2-Specific Trust Extensions:

• Payment Staking: Agents must stake ANS tokens proportional to their transaction volume limits
• Regulatory Attestation: Validators verify compliance certifications (PCI DSS, SOC 2, ISO 27001)
• Settlement History: On-chain record of successful settlements builds reputation scores
• Fraud Incident Reporting: Distributed fraud registry prevents malicious actors from re-registering

7.4.3 AP2 Agent Registration Requirements¶

Agents implementing AP2 must provide additional metadata during ANS registration:

Required Fields:

ap2_merchant_id: Unique merchant identifier (if applicable) ap2_processor_license: Payment processor license number ap2_compliance_certificates: Array of compliance certification hashes ap2_settlement_addresses: Blockchain addresses for settlement ap2_fraud_threshold: Maximum acceptable fraud rate ap2_insurance_coverage: Coverage amount for transaction protection

Example Registration:

anslookup--register\
--agent-id"secure-merchant.ans"\
--capability"ap2:merchant"\
--trust-level"blockchain"\
--ap2-compliance-certificates"sha256:xyz789,sha256:abc123"\
--ap2-settlement-address"0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b8D4C0C81"\
--stake-amount"10000"

Registration API Extension:

 {
 "method":"register",
 "params":{
 "agent_id":"secure-merchant.ans",
 "capabilities":["ap2:merchant"],
 "trust_level":"blockchain",
 "ap2_metadata":{
 "merchant_id":"MERCH-12345",
 "compliance_certificates":[
 {
 "type":"PCI_DSS_4.0",
 "hash":"sha256:xyz789",
 "issuer":"Visa"
 }
 ],
 "settlement_addresses":{
 "ethereum":"0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b8D4C0C81",
 "solana":"8K7A3h5..."
 },
 "fraud_threshold":0.01,
 "insurance_coverage":1000000
 }
 }
 }

7.4.4 Secure AP2 Session Initialisation¶

ANS provides trust establishment before AP2 session initiation:

sequenceDiagram
 participant ShoppingAgent as Shopping Agent (AP2 Client)
 participant ANS as Agent Network System
 participant MerchantAgent as Merchant Agent (AP2 Server)
 participant PaymentProcessor as Payment Processor (AP2 Settlement)
 ShoppingAgent->>ANS: lookup(capability="ap2:merchant", trust_level="blockchain")
 ANS-->>ShoppingAgent: Return verified merchants
 ShoppingAgent->>ANS: verify(merchant_id, required_claims=["ap2_compliance"])
 ANS-->>ShoppingAgent: Verification proof + contextual attestation
 ShoppingAgent->>MerchantAgent: AP2 initiate(session_context, attestation_token)
 MerchantAgent->>ANS: Verify shopping agent identity
 ANS-->>MerchantAgent: Verification result
 MerchantAgent->>ShoppingAgent: AP2 accept
 ShoppingAgent->>MerchantAgent: AP2 payment_request
 MerchantAgent->>PaymentProcessor: AP2 settlement_initiate
 PaymentProcessor->>ANS: Verify merchant authorisation
 ANS-->>PaymentProcessor: Authorisation proof
 PaymentProcessor-->>MerchantAgent: Settlement confirmation

Session Initialization Flow:

1. Discovery: Shopping assistant queries ANS for verified merchant agents
2. Trust Verification: ANS returns cryptographic proofs of identity and compliance
3. Capability Negotiation: Agents confirm AP2 version and supported payment methods
4. Session Key Exchange: Blockchain-verified identities enable secure key exchange
5. Payment Authorisation: AP2 transaction proceeds with ANS-provided trust anchor

anslookup Integration:

 # Find verified payment processors
anslookup--query"payment-processor"--capability"ap2:fraud_detection"--trust-level"blockchain"

 # Verify merchant before transaction
anslookupmerchant.example.ans--verify-compliance--check-stake

 # Request contextual attestation for payment session
anslookupmerchant.example.ans--request-attestation--context"payment_session_12345"--duration"15m"

7.4.5 AIBOM Extensions for Payment Agents¶

ANS extends the AI Bill of Materials (AIBOM) standard to include payment-specific components:

 {
 "aibom_version":"1.0",
 "agent_id":"payment-processor.ans",
 "agent_version":"1.2.3",
 "payment_components":[
 {
 "component_type":"fraud_detection_model",
 "version":"2.1.3",
 "provider":"Google Agentic Commerce",
 "audit_hash":"sha256:fraud123",
 "last_evaluated":"2025-11-01"
 },
 {
 "component_type":"encryption_module",
 "version":"3.0.1",
 "certification":"FIPS_140_3",
 "validation_date":"2025-09-15"
 },
 {
 "component_type":"payment_gateway",
 "version":"1.5.0",
 "provider":"Stripe",
 "pci_dss_scope":"SAQ_A"
 }
 ],
 "financial_dependencies":{
 "banking_partner":"Example Bank",
 "settlement_network":"Ethereum Mainnet",
 "liquidity_providers":["Coinbase Prime","Circle"]
 },
 "regulatory_attestations":[
 {
 "type":"PCI_DSS_4.0",
 "authority":"Visa",
 "certificate_id":"PCI-2025-12345",
 "valid_until":"2026-11-01"
 },
 {
 "type":"SOC_2_Type_II",
 "authority":"Deloitte",
 "report_id":"SOC2-2025-67890"
 }
 ]
 }

Verification Algorithm:

 ALGORITHMVerifyAP2AIBOM(agentId,aibomHash)
 // Verify payment-specific AIBOM components
 BEGIN
 // Retrieve registered AIBOM hash from blockchain
 registeredHash←GetAibomHashFromBlockchain(agentId)

 IFaibomHash!=registeredHashTHEN
 RETURN{"verified":false,"reason":"AIBOM hash mismatch"}
 ENDIF

 // Verify payment component certifications
 FOREACHcomponentINaibom.payment_componentsDO
 IFcomponent.component_type=="encryption_module"THEN
 IFNOTVerifyFIPSCompliance(component.certification)THEN
 RETURN{"verified":false,"reason":"Invalid encryption certification"}
 ENDIF
 ENDIF

 IFcomponent.component_type=="fraud_detection_model"THEN
 IFcomponent.last_evaluated>(CurrentDate()-90_days)THEN
 RETURN{"verified":false,"reason":"Fraud model outdated"}
 ENDIF
 ENDIF
 ENDFOR

 // Verify regulatory attestations are not expired
 FOREACHattestationINaibom.regulatory_attestationsDO
 IFattestation.valid_until<CurrentDate()THEN
 RETURN{"verified":false,"reason":"Expired attestation: "+attestation.type}
 ENDIF
 ENDFOR

 RETURN{
 "verified":true,
 "payment_component_count":aibom.payment_components.length,
 "attestation_count":aibom.regulatory_attestations.length
 }
 END

7.4.6 Compliance & Regulatory Framework¶

ANS provides automated compliance verification for AP2 agents:

• Real-time Sanctions Screening: ANS validators check against OFAC, EU sanctions lists
• Transaction Monitoring: Distributed telemetry detects suspicious patterns
• Audit Trail: Immutable ledger records all payment agent interactions
• Data Residency: ANS sovereignty features ensure payment data complies with regional regulations (GDPR, CCPA)

Compliance Verification API:

 {
 "method":"verify_compliance",
 "params":{
 "agent_id":"payment-processor.ans",
 "compliance_frameworks":["PCI_DSS_4.0","GDPR","SOC_2"],
 "region":"EU",
 "transaction_value":5000
 },
 "response":{
 "agent_id":"payment-processor.ans",
 "compliance_status":"compliant",
 "verified_frameworks":["PCI_DSS_4.0","GDPR"],
 "blocking_issues":["SOC_2 attestation expired"],
 "regional_clearance":true,
 "transaction_limits":{
 "max_per_transaction":10000,
 "max_daily":100000,
 "remaining_daily":75000
 }
 }
 }

7.4.7 Integration Architecture¶

graph TB
 subgraph "AP2 Payment Ecosystem"
 SA[Shopping Agent
AP2 Client]
 MA[Merchant Agent
AP2 Server]
 PP[Payment Processor
AP2 Settlement]
 end
 subgraph "ANS Core Services"
 RG[Registry Gateway]
 TC[Trust Verification Protocol]
 PD[Policy Distribution]
 SE[Synchronization Engine]
 end
 subgraph "ANS Trust Layer"
 BC[Blockchain Registry]
 DV[Distributed Validators]
 RS[Reputation System]
 end
 SA -->|lookup/verify| RG
 MA -->|lookup/verify| RG
 PP -->|lookup/verify| RG
 RG -->|trust queries| TC
 RG -->|policy checks| PD
 RG -->|state sync| SE
 TC -->|consensus| DV
 SE -->|immutability| BC
 DV -->|staking/slashing| RS
 SA -->|AP2 session| MA
 MA -->|AP2 settlement| PP

Component Responsibilities:

• Registry Gateway: Routes all discovery and verification requests
• Trust Verification Protocol: Validates agent identities and AP2-specific claims
• Policy Distribution: Enforces compliance and transaction policies
• Synchronization Engine: Maintains consistency between payment agents
• Blockchain Registry: Records immutable payment agent histories
• Distributed Validators: Verify compliance certificates and staking requirements

7.4.8 Migration Path for Existing AP2 Agents¶

Existing AP2 agents can integrate with ANS with minimal changes:

1. Add ANS SDK: Import @ans-project/sdk-js or ans-project-sdk
2. Register Identity: Submit agent metadata and stake tokens
3. Annotate Capabilities: Add AP2-specific capability declarations
4. Verify Compliance: Pass ANS validator checks for financial-grade trust
5. Update Discovery: Use ANSClient instead of hardcoded endpoints

 fromans_sdkimport ANSClient
 fromap2.typesimport PaymentProcessor

 # Initialize ANS client
 client = ANSClient(
 agent_id="my-processor.ans",
 trust_level="blockchain",
 stake_amount=10000
 )

 # Register AP2 capabilities
 client.register_capabilities({
 "protocols": ["AP2/v1.0"],
 "ap2:roles": ["payment_processor"],
 "ap2:payment_methods": ["card", "crypto"],
 "ap2:settlement_speed": "realtime"
 })

 # Verify counterpart before transaction
 merchant = client.lookup({
 "agent_id": "merchant.example.ans",
 "trust_level": "blockchain",
 "capabilities": ["ap2:merchant"]
 })

 if merchant.verify_compliance("PCI_DSS_4.0"):
 # Proceed with AP2 transaction using verified endpoint
 processor = PaymentProcessor(merchant.ap2_endpoint)
 processor.initiate_payment(
 amount=100.00,
 currency="USD",
 attestation=merchant.attestation_token
 )

Legacy Compatibility Mode:

ANS provides a compatibility layer for agents not yet migrated:

 {
 "legacy_ap2_endpoint":"https://old-api.example.com/payments",
 "ans_bridge":{
 "enabled":true,
 "verification_proxy":true,
 "trust_level":"blockchain"
 }
 }

7.5 Cross-Protocol Workflow Examples¶

ANS enables advanced multi-protocol agent workflows:

7.5.1 Delegated Task Execution:¶

An example where Agent A, after discovery and verification of Agent B, delegates work to B, which in turn uses MCP tools before returning results.

sequenceDiagram
 Agent A->>ANS: Discover Agent B via lookup
 ANS->>Agent A: Return Agent B details
 Agent A->>ANS: Verify Agent B with blockchain proof
 ANS->>Agent A: Return verification with ZKP validation
 Agent A->>ANS: Request contextual attestation
 ANS->>Agent A: Return short-lived attestation token
 Agent A->>Agent B: Delegate task via A2A protocol with attestation
 Agent B->>Agent B: Verify attestation locally
 Agent B->>ANS: Discover appropriate MCP tools
 ANS->>Agent B: Return verified MCP tool endpoints
 Agent B->>MCP Tools: Execute operations with verification
 MCP Tools->>Agent B: Return operation results
 Agent B->>Agent A: Return task results via A2A

Figure 10: Delegated Task Execution Workflow with ANS

Demonstrates a complex scenario where Agent A discovers and verifies Agent B using ANS (including ZKP and contextual attestations), delegates a task via A2A. Agent B, in turn, uses ANS to discover and verify appropriate MCP tools to perform its sub-tasks before returning results to Agent A.

7.5.2 Multi-Agent Collaboration:¶

In scenarios involving collaboration between multiple specialised agents, an orchestrator can leverage ANS to manage discovery, verification, and connection establishment. Figure 11 depicts such a multi-agent collaboration, highlighting how ANS underpins each stage of interaction and tool usage.

sequenceDiagram
 Orchestrator->>ANS: Discover specialised agents
 ANS->>Orchestrator: Return matching agents
 loop For each agent
 Orchestrator->>ANS: Verify agent with blockchain proof
 ANS->>Orchestrator: Return verification result with attestation
 end
 Orchestrator->>Agent 1: Establish A2A connection with context and attestation
 Orchestrator->>Agent 2: Establish A2A connection with context and attestation
 Orchestrator->>Agent 3: Establish A2A connection with context and attestation
 par Agents conduct dynamic policy negotiation
 Orchestrator->>Agent 1: Policy negotiation(params)
 Agent 1->>Orchestrator: Policy response(accepted_params)
 and
 Orchestrator->>Agent 2: Policy negotiation(params)
 Agent 2->>Orchestrator: Policy response(accepted_params)
 and
 Orchestrator->>Agent 3: Policy negotiation(params)
 Agent 3->>Orchestrator: Policy response(accepted_params)
 end
 Agent 1->>ANS: Discover MCP tools
 ANS->>Agent 1: Return verified MCP tools
 Agent 1->>MCP Tool A: Execute operations
 Agent 2->>ANS: Discover MCP tools
 ANS->>Agent 2: Return verified MCP tools
 Agent 2->>MCP Tool B: Execute operations
 Agent 1->>Agent 2: Share interim results via A2A
 Agent 2->>Agent 3: Forward processed results via A2A
 Agent 3->>Orchestrator: Return final results via A2A

Figure 11: Multi-Agent Collaboration Workflow with ANS

Shows an orchestrator discovering, verifying (with attestations), and establishing A2A connections with multiple specialised agents after dynamic policy negotiation. These agents may then independently use ANS to discover MCP tools for their respective tasks, collaborate, and return final results to the orchestrator.

8. Implementation Considerations¶

8.1 Architecture Design Patterns¶

The following patterns can help developers build ANS-compliant systems. Implementations of the ANS specification SHOULD consider the following architectural patterns:

8.1.1 Centralised Layer Patterns¶

• API Gateway Pattern: Implementations SHOULD use a globally distributed API gateway architecture capable of routing requests, enforcing rate limits, and providing authentication services.
• Distributed Database Pattern: A horizontally scalable, globally distributed database architecture SHOULD be employed to handle the high-volume, read-heavy workload typical of agent lookups.
• Multi-Region Cache Pattern: Implementations SHOULD incorporate a distributed caching architecture to minimise latency for frequent lookups and reduce database load.
• Federated Identity Pattern: Authentication services SHOULD leverage federated identity patterns to enable integration with diverse identity providers.
• Metrics Collection Pattern: Observability systems SHOULD implement distributed collection with centralised aggregation for global monitoring.

8.1.2 Bridge Layer Patterns¶

• Event-Driven Synchronisation Pattern: The Synchronisation Engine SHOULD use event-driven architecture for robustness and scalability.
• Conflict Resolution Pattern: Implementations SHOULD employ hierarchical resolution strategies with clear escalation paths.
• Trust Protocol Pattern: Implementations SHOULD use multi-layered verification with progressive validation steps.
• Policy Distribution Pattern: Implementations SHOULD use eventual consistency with priority-based updates for policy changes.

8.1.3 Decentralised Layer Patterns¶

• Blockchain Integration Pattern: Implementations MAY support multiple blockchain architectures through adapter interfaces.
• Validator Consensus Pattern: Implementations SHOULD use Byzantine Fault Tolerant consensus algorithms for validator networks.
• Smart Contract Pattern: Verification rules SHOULD be encoded in transparent, auditable smart contracts.
• Reputation System Pattern: Validator quality SHOULD be tracked through reputation systems with appropriate weighting.
• Zero-Knowledge Pattern: Implementations SHOULD support standardised ZKP protocols for private verification.

8.2 Deployment Models¶

ANS supports multiple deployment models:

• Global Public ANS: Globally available registry for public agents
• Private ANS: Dedicated deployment for organisational use
• Industry Consortium ANS: Shared registry for specific industry verticals
• Hybrid Federated ANS: Private instances with limited federation
• Multi-Region ANS: Deployment with regional data boundaries for compliance
• Customer-Managed Keys ANS: Deployment with customer-managed encryption keys

8.3 Performance and Scalability Considerations¶

Implementations of the ANS specification SHOULD design for:

• Agent Record Scale: Infrastructure capable of handling billions of registered agents
• Lookup Throughput: Optimisation for high-volume queries (100,000+ per second)
• Global Latency: Achieve <50ms p95 latency via global caching and edge nodes.
• Verification Performance: Efficient verification processing (10,000+ per second)
• Registration Throughput: Reliable processing of new registrations (1,000+ per second)
• Blockchain Efficiency: Optimised batching for high transaction volume
• Federation Scale: Support for federating with numerous ANS instances
• Disaster Recovery: Clear RPO/RTO targets for different operation types
• Degradation Strategies: Progressive performance degradation rather than outage

Implementations SHOULD publish performance characteristics and SLAs appropriate to their deployment model.

9. Benefits and Use Cases¶

9.1 Ecosystem Benefits¶

• Secure Integration: Verify third-party agents before integration
• Standardised Discovery: Consistent mechanism for finding external agents
• Governance: Clear verification standards for agent deployment
• Auditability: Immutable record of agent verification history
• Regulatory Compliance: Support for data sovereignty and industry regulations
• Risk Management: Granular control over agent interactions
• Privacy Protection: Selective disclosure mechanisms for sensitive attributes
• Supply Chain Security: Verification of AI components and dependencies

9.2 Developer Benefits¶

• Simplified Discovery: Easy mechanism to find and integrate with other agents
• Trust Verification: Confidence in third-party agent authenticity
• Standardised Interface: Consistent API for agent publishing and discovery
• Ecosystem Participation: Straightforward path to join the agent ecosystem
• Reduced Integration Effort: Common patterns for agent-to-agent communication
• Enhanced Security: Built-in verification for agent interactions
• Dynamic Capabilities: Support for evolving agent functionality
• Standardised Policies: Clear rules for agent interaction

9.3 Key Use Cases¶

• Cross-Organisation Collaboration: Agents automatically discovering and interacting with partner organisation agents
• Service Marketplace: Agents finding specialised service providers for specific tasks
• AI Supply Chain: Complex workflows spanning multiple specialised agents
• Trust-Critical Operations: Verified agent interaction for high-value or sensitive operations
• Industry Ecosystems: Domain-specific agent networks with shared trust frameworks
• Regulatory Compliance: Auditable agent interactions for regulated industries
• Privacy-Preserving Collaboration: Selective disclosure of capabilities for sensitive operations
• Dynamic Agent Discovery: Runtime discovery and verification of specialised capabilities

8. Quantum-Proof Architecture¶

The Agent Network System (ANS) incorporates a forward-looking security architecture designed to resist cryptanalytic attacks from future Cryptographically Relevant Quantum Computers (CRQC). This architecture mandates a transition from classical asymmetric cryptography to post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) standards.

8.1 Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) Integration¶

ANS implementations MUST support a Hybrid (Dual-Key) Architecture, enabling the concurrent use of classical and quantum-resistant cryptographic primitives. This approach ensures backward compatibility while establishing a defense-in-depth posture against quantum threats.

• Standard Compliance: The PQC layer MUST adhere to the NIST FIPS 204 standard (Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Standard).
• Identity Verification: For high-assurance trust levels (e.g., blockchain verification), agents SHALL employ ML-DSA (specifically the ML-DSA-87 parameter set) for digital signatures.
• Hybrid Identity Schema: The agent registration payload encompasses both a primary classical key (ECDSA secp256r1) and a secondary quantum-resistant key (ML-DSA), allowing verifiers to select the appropriate trust model for their interaction context.

Detailed technical specifications and transition phases are defined in the PQC Migration Roadmap and the PQC Implementation Guide .

9. Conclusion¶

The Agent Network System (ANS) specification provides a comprehensive model for the emerging AI agent ecosystem, enabling secure, efficient discovery and verification of agents at global scale. By combining high performance centralised components with the trust guarantees of blockchain technology, the ANS architecture delivers a hybrid approach that meets the diverse needs of the AI agent community.

As AI agents proliferate across organisations and use cases, implementations of this specification can serve as the connective tissue that enables them to find, verify, and communicate with each other. The focus on performance, trust, security, and global scalability creates a foundation that can grow with the rapidly evolving agent landscape.

Through open standards and decentralised governance, the ANS model aims to become a collaborative global resource that accelerates the development and adoption of AI agents while ensuring security and trust. By providing a common framework for agent discovery and verification, this specification can help unleash the full potential of agent-to-agent collaboration.

This specification is offered as a foundation for industry collaboration. Future work should include:

1. Formalisation through a recognised standards body
2. Development of open source reference implementations
3. Establishment of a cross industry governance model
4. Creation of conformance test suites and certification processes

The authors invite contribution from the broader AI community to refine and evolve this specification to meet the needs of a diverse and rapidly growing agent ecosystem.

11. Milestone-Driven Roadmap¶

The Agent Network System (ANS) v0.1.2 specification represents the foundational blueprint for a secure and interoperable AI agent ecosystem. Its evolution will be a community driven effort. We envision a phased approach to development, implementation, and standardisation. This roadmap outlines key milestones and invites collaboration from developers, researchers, organisations, and standards bodies.

Phase 1: Foundation & Community Building

Phase 2: Core Implementation & Protocol Refinement

Phase 3: Ecosystem Expansion & Standardization Efforts

Phase 4: Global Adoption & Advanced Capabilities

Appendix A: API Interface Examples¶

This appendix provides additional API interface examples to assist implementers.

JavaScript Interface Example¶

 // Initialize the ANS client
 constans=newAgentNetworkSystem({
 credentials:{/* authentication details */},
 registryEndpoint:"https://registry.ans.io"
 });

 // Lookup agents by capability
 constagents=awaitans.lookup({
 capabilities:["sales_support"],
 trustLevel:"verified",
 policyRequirements:{
 verificationLevel:"standard",
 capabilities:["secure_messaging"]
 }
 });

 // Register a new agent
 awaitans.register({
 agentId:"my-agent.example.ans",
 name:"My Agent",
 capabilities:["customer_support"],
 endpoints:{
 a2a:"https://my-agent.example.com/a2a",
 policy_negotiation:"https://my-agent.example.com/policy/negotiate"
 },
 privateClaims:{
 capabilityProofs:{
 "financial_transactions_level_3":"<ZKP commitment>"
 }
 },
 supplyChain:{
 aibomUrl:"https://sbom.example.com/agent-components.json",
 aibomHash:"sha256:a1b2c3d4e5f6..."
 }
 });

 // Verify an agent
 constverification=awaitans.verify({
 agentId:"nia.example.ans",
 level:"blockchain",
 requiredClaims:["identity","capabilities"],
 privateClaimRequests:["financial_transactions_level_3"],
 contextualAttestation:{
 requested:true,
 validDuration:"15m",
 useContext:"payment_session_12345"
 }
 });

Python Interface Example¶

 # Initialize the ANS client
 fromans_sdkimport AgentNetworkSystem

 ans = AgentNetworkSystem(
 credentials={"api_key": "your_api_key"},
 registry_endpoint="https://registry.ans.io"
 )

 # Lookup agents by capability
 agents = ans.lookup(
 capabilities=["sales_support"],
 trust_level="verified",
 policy_requirements={
 "verification_level": "standard",
 "capabilities": ["secure_messaging"]
 }
 )

 # Register a new agent
 ans.register(
 agent_id="my-agent.example.ans",
 name="My Agent",
 capabilities=["customer_support"],
 endpoints={
 "a2a": "https://my-agent.example.com/a2a",
 "policy_negotiation": "https://my-agent.example.com/policy/negotiate"
 },
 private_claims={
 "capability_proofs": {
 "financial_transactions_level_3": "<ZKP commitment>"
 }
 },
 supply_chain={
 "aibom_url": "https://sbom.example.com/agent-components.json",
 "aibom_hash": "sha256:a1b2c3d4e5f6..."
 }
 )

 # Verify an agent
 verification = ans.verify(
 agent_id="nia.example.ans",
 level="blockchain",
 required_claims=["identity", "capabilities"],
 private_claim_requests=["financial_transactions_level_3"],
 contextual_attestation={
 "requested": True,
 "valid_duration": "15m",
 "use_context": "payment_session_12345"
 }
 )

Appendix B: Protocol Integration Examples¶

B.1 A2A Protocol Integration¶

 // Using ANS with A2A protocol
 constans=newAgentNetworkSystem({
 credentials:{/* authentication details */},
 registryEndpoint:"https://registry.ans.io"
 });

 // Find an agent that supports A2A
 constagents=awaitans.lookup({
 capabilities:["document_processing"],
 protocols:["a2a"]
 });

 // Verify the agent before connecting
 constverification=awaitans.verify({
 agentId:agents[0].agent_id,
 level:"standard",
 required_claims:["identity","capabilities"],
 interaction_context:"document_processing",
 contextualAttestation:{
 requested:true,
 validDuration:"15m",
 useContext:"document_session_5678"
 }
 });

 // Check policy compliance
 if(verification.verified&&verification.policy_compliance.compliant){
 // Connect via A2A protocol with verification attestation token
 consta2aClient=newA2AClient();
 constconnection=awaita2aClient.connect(
 agents[0].endpoints.a2a,
 {
 attestation_token:verification.contextual_attestation.token,
 context:"document_processing_request"
 }
 );

 // Dynamic policy negotiation
 if(agents[0].endpoints.policy_negotiation){
 constnegotiation=awaita2aClient.negotiatePolicy(
 agents[0].endpoints.policy_negotiation,
 {
 retention_period:"15d",// Proposing a shorter retention
 purpose_limitation:["document_analysis_only"]
 }
 );

 if(negotiation.accepted){
 console.log("Policy negotiated successfully:",negotiation.accepted_parameters);
 }
 }

 // Proceed with A2A communication
 awaitconnection.sendTask({
 task_type:"document_analysis",
 document:documentData
 });
 }else{
 console.log("Agent verification failed or policy not compliant:",
 verification.policy_compliance.reason);
 }

B.2 MCP Protocol Integration¶

 # Using ANS with MCP protocol
 fromans_sdkimport AgentNetworkSystem
 frommcp_clientimport MCPClient

 ans = AgentNetworkSystem(
 credentials={"api_key": "your_api_key"},
 registry_endpoint="https://registry.ans.io"
 )

 # Find MCP servers with specific capabilities
 mcp_servers = ans.lookup(
 capabilities=["code_generation"],
 protocols=["mcp"],
 trust_level="verified"
 )

 if mcp_servers:
 # Verify the MCP server and check policy compliance
 verification = ans.verify(
 agent_id=mcp_servers[0].agent_id,
 level="blockchain",
 interaction_context="code_generation_request",
 contextual_attestation={
 "requested": True,
 "valid_duration": "30m",
 "use_context": "coding_session_9012"
 }
 )

 if verification.verified and verification.policy_compliance.compliant:
 # Connect to the MCP server with contextual attestation
 mcp_client = MCPClient()
 server = mcp_client.connect(
 mcp_servers[0].endpoints.mcp,
 attestation_token=verification.contextual_attestation.token
 )

 # Dynamic policy negotiation if supported
 if hasattr(mcp_servers[0].endpoints, "policy_negotiation"):
 negotiation = mcp_client.negotiate_policy(
 mcp_servers[0].endpoints.policy_negotiation,
 {
 "retention_period": "7d", # Proposing a shorter retention
 "purpose_limitation": ["code_generation_only"]
 }
 )

 if negotiation.accepted:
 print(f"Policy negotiated successfully: {negotiation.accepted_parameters}")

 # Discover available tools first
 tools = server.discover_tools()

 # Use the MCP server's capabilities
 if "generate_code" in tools:
 result = server.execute_tool(
 "generate_code",
 {
 "language": "python",
 "description": "A function to sort a list"
 }
 )
 else:
 print(f"Server verification failed or policy not compliant: {verification.policy_compliance.reason}")

Appendix C: Smart Contract Reference Designs¶

The following reference designs illustrate how the ANS verification and policy management can be implemented as smart contracts. These designs focus on security properties and formal behaviour rather than specific implementation details.

C.1 Verification Registry Contract¶

 // VerificationRegistry.sol
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
 pragma solidity^0.8.0;

 import"@openzeppelin/contracts/access/AccessControl.sol";
 import"@openzeppelin/contracts/security/ReentrancyGuard.sol";

 contractAgentVerificationRegistryisAccessControl,ReentrancyGuard{
 bytes32public constantVALIDATOR_ROLE=keccak256("VALIDATOR_ROLE");
 bytes32public constantADMIN_ROLE=keccak256("ADMIN_ROLE");

 structVerificationRecord{
 bytes32agentId;
 stringverificationLevel;
 bytes32claimsHash;
 uint256timestamp;
 addressverifier;
 boolrevoked;
 stringrevocationReason;
 bytes32[]revokedCapabilities;
 }

 // Mapping from agent ID hash to verification record
 mapping(bytes32=>VerificationRecord)publicverifications;

 // Validator reputation tracking
 mapping(address=>uint256)publicvalidatorReputation;
 mapping(address=>uint256)publicvalidatorLastActivity;
 mapping(address=>uint256)publicvalidatorSuccessfulVerifications;

 // AIBOM hash verification
 mapping(bytes32=>bytes32)publicagentAibomHashes;

 // Events
 eventVerificationRecorded(bytes32indexedagentId,stringlevel,bytes32claimsHash);
 eventVerificationRevoked(bytes32indexedagentId,stringreason,uint256timestamp);
 eventCapabilitiesRevoked(bytes32indexedagentId,bytes32[]capabilities,uint256timestamp);
 eventValidatorAdded(addressindexedvalidator);
 eventValidatorRemoved(addressindexedvalidator);
 eventValidatorReputationUpdated(addressindexedvalidator,uint256newReputation);
 eventValidatorSlashed(addressindexedvalidator,uint256amount,stringevidence);
 eventAibomHashRecorded(bytes32indexedagentId,bytes32aibomHash);
 eventSyncProofRecorded(bytes32merkleRoot,uint256timestamp,uint256recordCount);

 constructor(){
_setupRole(DEFAULT_ADMIN_ROLE,msg.sender);
_setupRole(ADMIN_ROLE,msg.sender);
 }

 modifieronlyAdmin(){
 require(hasRole(ADMIN_ROLE,msg.sender),"Only admin can call this function");
_;
 }

 modifieronlyValidator(){
 require(hasRole(VALIDATOR_ROLE,msg.sender),"Only validators can call this function");
_;
 }

 functionaddValidator(addressvalidator)externalonlyAdmin{
grantRole(VALIDATOR_ROLE,validator);
validatorReputation[validator]=100;// Initial reputation
emitValidatorAdded(validator);
 }

 functionremoveValidator(addressvalidator)externalonlyAdmin{
revokeRole(VALIDATOR_ROLE,validator);
emitValidatorRemoved(validator);
 }

 functionrecordVerification(
 bytes32agentId,
 stringcalldatalevel,
 bytes32claimsHash,
 bytes32[]calldatacapabilityHashes,
 bytes32aibomHash
 )externalonlyValidatornonReentrantreturns(bool){
 // Check if agent exists and handle appropriately
 boolisNewAgent=verifications[agentId].agentId==bytes32(0);

 // For existing agents, check if they're revoked
 if(!isNewAgent&&verifications[agentId].revoked){
 returnfalse;
 }

 // Record verification
verifications[agentId]=VerificationRecord({
agentId:agentId,
verificationLevel:level,
claimsHash:claimsHash,
timestamp:block.timestamp,
verifier:msg.sender,
revoked:false,
revocationReason:"",
revokedCapabilities:newbytes32[](0)
 });

 // If AIBOM hash provided, record it
 if(aibomHash!=bytes32(0)){
agentAibomHashes[agentId]=aibomHash;
emitAibomHashRecorded(agentId,aibomHash);
 }

 // Update validator metrics
validatorLastActivity[msg.sender]=block.timestamp;
validatorSuccessfulVerifications[msg.sender]++;

 // Update reputation (simplified - would be more complex in reality)
 if(validatorSuccessfulVerifications[msg.sender]%10==0){
validatorReputation[msg.sender]+=5;
emitValidatorReputationUpdated(msg.sender,validatorReputation[msg.sender]);
 }

emitVerificationRecorded(agentId,level,claimsHash);
 returntrue;
 }

 functionrevokeVerification(
 bytes32agentId,
 stringcalldatareason
 )externalonlyValidatornonReentrant{
 require(verifications[agentId].agentId==agentId,"Agent not found");
 require(!verifications[agentId].revoked,"Already revoked");

verifications[agentId].revoked=true;
verifications[agentId].revocationReason=reason;

emitVerificationRevoked(agentId,reason,block.timestamp);
 }

 functionrevokeCapabilities(
 bytes32agentId,
 bytes32[]calldatacapabilities,
 stringcalldatareason
 )externalonlyValidatornonReentrant{
 require(verifications[agentId].agentId==agentId,"Agent not found");
 require(!verifications[agentId].revoked,"Agent fully revoked");

verifications[agentId].revokedCapabilities=capabilities;

emitCapabilitiesRevoked(agentId,capabilities,block.timestamp);
 }

 functionrecordSyncProof(
 bytes32merkleRoot,
 uint256recordCount
 )externalonlyValidatornonReentrant{
 // Record a proof of synchronisation between centralised DB and blockchain
emitSyncProofRecorded(merkleRoot,block.timestamp,recordCount);
 }

 functioncheckVerification(bytes32agentId)externalview
 returns(
 stringmemorylevel,
 uint256timestamp,
 addressverifier,
 boolisRevoked,
 stringmemoryrevocationReason,
 bytes32[]memoryrevokedCapabilities,
 bytes32aibomHash
 )
 {
VerificationRecordmemoryrecord=verifications[agentId];
 require(record.agentId==agentId,"Agent not verified");

 return(
record.verificationLevel,
record.timestamp,
record.verifier,
record.revoked,
record.revocationReason,
record.revokedCapabilities,
agentAibomHashes[agentId]
 );
 }

 functionverifyClaimsHash(bytes32agentId,bytes32claimsHash)externalviewreturns(bool){
VerificationRecordmemoryrecord=verifications[agentId];

 // Must be verified and not revoked
 if(record.agentId!=agentId||record.revoked){
 returnfalse;
 }

 returnrecord.claimsHash==claimsHash;
 }

 functionverifyAibomHash(bytes32agentId,bytes32aibomHash)externalviewreturns(bool){
 // If no AIBOM recorded, return false
 if(agentAibomHashes[agentId]==bytes32(0)){
 returnfalse;
 }

 returnagentAibomHashes[agentId]==aibomHash;
 }

 functionisCapabilityRevoked(bytes32agentId,bytes32capability)externalviewreturns(bool){
VerificationRecordmemoryrecord=verifications[agentId];

 // If agent is fully revoked, all capabilities are revoked
 if(record.revoked){
 returntrue;
 }

 // Check if specific capability is revoked
 for(uinti=0;i<record.revokedCapabilities.length;i++){
 if(record.revokedCapabilities[i]==capability){
 returntrue;
 }
 }

 returnfalse;
 }

 functionslashValidator(
 addressvalidator,
 uint256amount,
 stringcalldataevidence
 )externalonlyAdmin{
 require(hasRole(VALIDATOR_ROLE,validator),"Address is not a validator");
 require(validatorReputation[validator]>=amount,"Reputation underflow");

validatorReputation[validator]-=amount;
emitValidatorReputationUpdated(validator,validatorReputation[validator]);
emitValidatorSlashed(validator,amount,evidence);

 // If reputation falls too low, consider removing validator role
 if(validatorReputation[validator]<50){
revokeRole(VALIDATOR_ROLE,validator);
emitValidatorRemoved(validator);
 }
 }
 }

C.2 Smart Contract Formal Security Properties¶

The smart contracts in the ANS model MUST adhere to the following security properties:

C.2.1 Authentication¶

• Only administrators can add/remove validators
• Only validators can record verifications
• Only administrators can slash validators

C.2.2 Immutability¶

• Once recorded, verification records cannot be modified
• Revocation can only add information, never remove it
• Capability revocation can only add revoked capabilities, never remove them

C.2.3 Transparency¶

• All verification operations emit corresponding events
• All validator management operations emit corresponding events
• All slashing operations include evidence references

C.2.4 Non-Repudiation¶

• All operations record the sender's address
• Verification records include a timestamp
• Events contain all necessary audit information

C.2.5 Liveness¶

• Validator incentives increase with successful verifications
• Higher reputation leads to higher influence in consensus
• Inactivity penalties encourage regular participation

Appendix D: Security Considerations¶

D.1 Threat Model¶

Status: Under Development

The ANS system is designed with a comprehensive threat model that maps specific threats to required mitigation mechanisms. Table D.1 provides a formal threat matrix with explicit links between each threat vector and its corresponding mitigation implementation.

Table D.1: Threat Matrix with Linked Mitigations

D.2 Zero-Trust Implementation¶

The ANS system implements zero-trust principles at all levels:

• Authentication: Every request requires authentication with time-limited credentials
• Authorisation: Fine-grained access control for all registry operations
• Continuous Verification: Ongoing validation of agent claims and status
• Least Privilege: Minimal access rights for each system component
• Micro-segmentation: Isolation between system components and services
• Encryption: End-to-end encryption for all sensitive data
• Monitoring: Comprehensive audit logs and anomaly detection
• Circuit Breakers: Automatic isolation of compromised or suspicious components
• Identity-Based Security: Security policies tied to verified identities rather than network location
• Session Context: Security decisions incorporating full request context

D.3 Formal Threat Response Protocol¶

ALGORITHM ThreatDetectionAndResponse(detectedThreat)
 // Structured response to detected security threats
 BEGIN
 // 1. Categorise threat and determine severity
 threatCategory ← CategorizeThreat(detectedThreat)
 severityLevel ← CalculateThreatSeverity(detectedThreat, threatCategory)

 // 2. Apply immediate containment based on threat category
 IF threatCategory == "IMPERSONATION" THEN
 containmentAction ← FlagAgentAsCompromised(detectedThreat.agentId)
 ELSIF threatCategory == "DENIAL_OF_SERVICE" THEN
 containmentAction ← ApplyCircuitBreaker(detectedThreat.targetComponent)
 ELSIF threatCategory == "TRUST_FORGERY" THEN
 containmentAction ← EmergencyRevokeVerification(detectedThreat.agentId)
 ELSIF threatCategory == "VALIDATOR_COLLUSION" THEN
 containmentAction ← QuarantineValidators(detectedThreat.validatorSet)
 ELSE
 containmentAction ← ApplyDefaultContainment(detectedThreat)
 END IF

 // 3. Generate standardised incident record with evidence
 incidentRecord ← {
 "incident_id": GenerateUUID(),
 "timestamp": CurrentTimestamp(),
 "threat_category": threatCategory,
 "severity": severityLevel,
 "affected_components": detectedThreat.affectedComponents,
 "affected_agents": detectedThreat.affectedAgents,
 "detection_source": detectedThreat.source,
 "evidence": CollectEvidence(detectedThreat),
 "containment_action": containmentAction,
 "containment_status": "APPLIED"
 }

 // 4. Record incident immutably
 StoreIncidentRecord(incidentRecord)

 // For critical severity, record hash on blockchain 
 IF severityLevel == "CRITICAL" THEN
 RecordIncidentHashOnBlockchain(Hash(incidentRecord))
 END IF

 // 5. Notify appropriate stakeholders based on severity
 notificationTargets ← DetermineNotificationTargets(severityLevel, detectedThreat)
 SendStructuredAlert(notificationTargets, incidentRecord)

 // 6. Initiate investigation workflow
 investigationTicket ← InitiateInvestigation(incidentRecord)

 // 7. Apply mitigation from threat matrix
 mitigationReference ← GetMitigationFromThreatMatrix(threatCategory, detectedThreat.specificThreat)
 mitigationStatus ← ApplyMitigation(mitigationReference, detectedThreat)

 // 8. Update incident record with mitigation status
 UpdateIncidentRecord(incidentRecord.incident_id, {
 "mitigation_reference": mitigationReference,
 "mitigation_status": mitigationStatus,
 "investigation_reference": investigationTicket.id
 })

 // 9. Return incident summary
 RETURN {
 "incident_id": incidentRecord.incident_id,
 "severity": severityLevel,
 "containment_status": "APPLIED",
 "investigation_reference": investigationTicket.id
 }
 END

Appendix E: AIBOM Format Specification¶

Status: Under Development

The AI Bill of Materials (AIBOM) format standardises the documentation of AI components:

 {
 "aibom_version":"1.0",
 "agent_id":"example-agent.ans",
 "agent_version":"2.5.1",
 "created_date":"2025-04-12T10:30:00Z",
 "last_updated":"2025-05-17T14:22:31Z",
 "components":[
 {
 "type":"model",
 "id":"foundation-model-123",
 "name":"FoundationLLM",
 "version":"3.0",
 "provider":"AI Foundation Co",
 "license":"commercial",
 "usage_purpose":"core_reasoning",
 "attestations":[
 {
 "type":"safety_testing",
 "authority":"AI Safety Institute",
 "id":"cert-12345",
 "validity_url":"https://aisafety.org/verify/cert-12345",
 "valid_until":"2026-04-12T00:00:00Z"
 },
 {
 "type":"security_audit",
 "authority":"SecureAI Labs",
 "id":"audit-78901",
 "validity_url":"https://secureailabs.com/verify/audit-78901"
 }
 ]
 },
 {
 "type":"dataset",
 "id":"training-dataset-456",
 "name":"Industry Knowledge Base",
 "version":"2023-Q2",
 "characteristics":{
 "domain":"financial_services",
 "size":"500GB",
 "record_count":12500000,
 "time_period":"2010-2023"
 },
 "processing":[
 {"type":"anonymisation","method":"differential_privacy"},
 {"type":"filtering","criteria":"regulatory_compliance"}
 ],
 "attestations":[
 {
 "type":"data_quality",
 "authority":"DataTrust Inc",
 "id":"quality-34567",
 "validity_url":"https://datatrust.org/verify/quality-34567"
 }
 ]
 },
 {
 "type":"framework",
 "id":"ai-framework-789",
 "name":"SecureAI Framework",
 "version":"4.2.1",
 "license":"apache-2.0",
 "components":["runtime","security_layer","validation_engine"]
 }
 ],
 "development_process":{
 "methodology":"secure_development_lifecycle",
 "testing":[
 {"type":"adversarial_testing","coverage":"high","last_performed":"2025-03-15"},
 {"type":"red_teaming","coverage":"medium","last_performed":"2025-04-01"}
 ],
 "attestations":[
 {
 "type":"development_process",
 "authority":"AIDevSecOps",
 "id":"process-56789",
 "validity_url":"https://aidevsecops.com/verify/process-56789",
 "valid_until":"2026-05-17T00:00:00Z"
 }
 ]
 },
 "known_vulnerabilities":[],
 "supply_chain_risk_assessment":{
 "overall_risk_level":"low",
 "risk_factors":[
 {
 "factor":"foundation_model_security",
 "score":"low",
 "rationale":"Model has undergone independent security audit"
 },
 {
 "factor":"data_provenance",
 "score":"medium",
 "rationale":"Some datasets have limited provenance verification"
 }
 ]
 },
 "signature":{
 "authority":"Example Corp",
 "signature_algorithm":"ES256",
 "signature_value":"a1b2c3d4e5f6...",
 "signed_date":"2025-05-17T14:22:31Z"
 }
 }

Appendix F: Agent Namespace Management¶

ANS manages agent namespaces using a hierarchical structure:

• Domain-Based Namespaces: Agent IDs (e.g., my-agent.example.ans) are tied to DNS ownership
• Verification Process: Domain ownership verified through DNS challenge or SSL certificate validation
• Namespace Registration: Organisations register their namespace with ANS
• Subdomains: Organisations can create subdomains for internal agents (e.g., sales.example.ans)
• Reserved Namespaces: Special namespaces reserved for system use
• Dispute Resolution: Clear process for resolving namespace disputes
• Trademark Protection: Mechanisms to prevent brand infringement
• Namespace Transfers: Secure process for transferring ownership

F.1 DNS-Based Name Resolution¶

The ANS specification SHOULD support DNS-based name resolution implementation:

 classANSNameResolver{
 asyncresolveAgentName(name:string):Promise<string|null>{
 // Parse name components
 const[agentName,domain]=this.parseAgentName(name);

 try{
 // Look up DNS TXT records
 consttxtRecords=awaitdns.promises.resolveTxt(`_ans._tcp.${domain}`);

 // Find matching agent record
 for(constrecordoftxtRecords.flat()){
 constentries=record.split(';').map(entry=>{
 const[key,value]=entry.split('=');
 return{key,value};
 });

 constagent=entries.find(e=>e.key==='agentName'&&e.value===agentName);
 if(agent){
 // Find agent ID entry
 constidEntry=entries.find(e=>e.key==='agentId');
 if(idEntry){
 returnidEntry.value;
 }
 }
 }

 returnnull;
 }catch(error){
 console.error(`Error resolving agent name ${name}:`,error);
 returnnull;
 }
 }
 }

Appendix G: Core Algorithms¶

This appendix provides additional algorithms that define the core ANS mechanisms.

G.1 Zero-Knowledge Selective Disclosure¶

ALGORITHM VerifyZeroKnowledgeProofs(agent, privateClaims)
 // Verifies private claims using zero-knowledge proofs
 BEGIN
 result ← {
 "verified": false,
 "verified_claims": [],
 "proofs": {}
 }

 // Step 1: Retrieve agent ZKP commitments from blockchain registry
 zkpCommitments ← GetAgentZKPCommitments(agent.id)

 IF zkpCommitments == null OR zkpCommitments.length == 0 THEN
 result.reason ← "No ZKP commitments found for agent"
 RETURN result
 END IF

 // Step 2: Validate proof format for each private claim
 FOR EACH claim IN privateClaims DO
 // Check if we have a commitment for this claim
 IF NOT zkpCommitments.hasCommitment(claim) THEN
 result.reason ← "No commitment found for claim: " + claim
 RETURN result
 END IF

 // Get the proof provided for this claim
 proof ← agent.private_claims[claim]

 IF proof == null THEN
 result.reason ← "No proof provided for claim: " + claim
 RETURN result
 END IF

 // Step 3: Verify the ZKP using appropriate verification algorithm
 zkpType ← DetermineZKPType(proof)

 IF zkpType == "BULLETPROOF" THEN
 verificationResult ← VerifyBulletproof(proof, zkpCommitments[claim])
 ELSIF zkpType == "ZK_SNARK" THEN
 verificationResult ← VerifyZkSnark(proof, zkpCommitments[claim])
 ELSE
 result.reason ← "Unsupported ZKP type: " + zkpType
 RETURN result
 END IF

 // Step 4: Record verification result
 IF verificationResult.verified THEN
 result.verified_claims.append(claim)
 result.proofs[claim] ← {
 "type": zkpType,
 "verified": true,
 "timestamp": CurrentTimestamp()
 }
 ELSE
 result.reason ← "ZKP verification failed for claim: " + claim + ", " + verificationResult.reason
 RETURN result
 END IF
 END FOR

 // Step 5: All claims verified successfully
 result.verified ← result.verified_claims.length == privateClaims.length

 RETURN result
 END

G.2 AIBOM Verification¶

Status: Experimental

ALGORITHM VerifyAIBOM(agent, aibomHash)
 // Verifies agent AI Bill of Materials
 BEGIN
 // Step 1: Check if AIBOM hash is registered on blockchain
 blockchainAibomHash ← GetAgentAibomHashFromBlockchain(agent.id)

 // If no AIBOM registered, cannot verify
 IF blockchainAibomHash == null THEN
 RETURN {
 "verified": false,
 "reason": "No AIBOM registered for agent"
 }
 END IF

 // Step 2: Compare provided hash with blockchain record
 IF aibomHash != blockchainAibomHash THEN
 RETURN {
 "verified": false,
 "reason": "AIBOM hash mismatch",
 "provided_hash": aibomHash,
 "blockchain_hash": blockchainAibomHash
 }
 END IF

 // Step 3: Verify AIBOM content if available
 IF agent.aibom_content != null THEN
 // Compute hash of provided content
 computedHash ← ComputeAibomHash(agent.aibom_content)

 // Verify hash matches
 IF computedHash != aibomHash THEN
 RETURN {
 "verified": false,
 "reason": "AIBOM content hash mismatch",
 "computed_hash": computedHash,
 "registered_hash": aibomHash
 }
 END IF

 // Step 4: Verify AIBOM attestations if present
 IF agent.aibom_content.attestations AND agent.aibom_content.attestations.length > 0 THEN
 attestationResults ← []

 FOR EACH attestation IN agent.aibom_content.attestations DO
 // Verify attestation with issuing authority
 attestationResult ← VerifyAttestationWithAuthority(attestation)
 attestationResults.append(attestationResult)

 // Fail if any attestation is invalid
 IF NOT attestationResult.verified THEN
 RETURN {
 "verified": false,
 "reason": "Invalid attestation: " + attestation.type,
 "attestation_error": attestationResult.reason
 }
 END IF
 END FOR
 END IF
 END IF

 // Step 5: Return verification result
 RETURN {
 "verified": true,
 "aibom_hash": aibomHash,
 "blockchain_record": {
 "transaction_id": GetAibomTransactionId(agent.id),
 "block_number": GetAibomBlockNumber(agent.id),
 "timestamp": GetAibomTimestamp(agent.id)
 }
 }
 END

G.3 Contextual Attestation¶

ALGORITHM GenerateContextualAttestation(agentId, verificationResult, context, validDuration)
 // Generate short-lived attestation for specific contexts
 BEGIN
 // 1. Verify agent is trusted at required level
 IF NOT verificationResult.verified THEN
 RETURN {
 "success": false,
 "reason": "Cannot generate attestation for unverified agent"
 }
 END IF

 // 2. Prepare attestation claims
 claims ← {
 "sub": agentId,
 "iss": GetServiceIdentity(),
 "iat": CurrentTimestamp(),
 "exp": CurrentTimestamp() + ParseDuration(validDuration),
 "context": context,
 "verified_level": verificationResult.level_achieved,
 "verified_claims": verificationResult.claims_verified,
 "nonce": GenerateSecureRandom(32)
 }

 // 3. For high-security contexts, include verification proof hashes
 IF IsHighSecurityContext(context) THEN
 proofHashes ← {}

 FOR EACH level, proof IN verificationResult.proofs DO
 proofHashes[level] ← Hash(Stringify(proof))
 END FOR

 claims.verification_proof_hashes ← proofHashes
 END IF

 // 4. Sign the attestation with service key
 signedAttestation ← SignJWT(claims, SERVICE_ATTESTATION_KEY)

 // 5. Record attestation issuance for auditing
 RecordAttestationIssuance(claims.iat, agentId, context, claims.exp)

 // 6. Return the attestation token
 RETURN {
 "success": true,
 "token": signedAttestation,
 "valid_until": claims.exp,
 "scope": context
 }
 END

Appendix H: Federated Architecture (ANS-FED-v0.1.1)¶

Status: Proposed for v0.1.1 – Request for Comment

Scope: Adds federation-only clauses to the existing ANS spec.

Compatibility: Fully additive; no breaking changes to v0.1.2.

H.1 Vision¶

"Many sovereign ANS cores, one logical web."

ANS-FED enables any number of independently-operated ANS deployments to:

1. Discover each other via standard protocols (DNS-SD, HTTPS, gRPC).
2. Synchronise critical state (revocations, namespaces, validator sets) without global consensus.
3. Heal from arbitrary failures in < 30 s while preserving data-sovereignty boundaries.

H.2 Terminology (additive)¶

H.3 High-Level Model¶

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 linkStyle 12 stroke-width:1px,stroke-dasharray: 2 4,stroke:#ff7675,fill:none
 linkStyle 13 stroke-width:1px,stroke-dasharray: 2 4,stroke:#ff7675,fill:none

Figure H-1: Three-core web with two Anchor and three Probe threads.

Each ANS core (the colored circles) is an independent registry running in its own region. The lines show how the cores stay in sync and heal automatically:

In short: the web keeps working even when any single region, link, or core fails.

H.4 Core-to-Core Protocols¶

H.4.1 Discovery¶

Mechanism: DNS-SD TXT records under _ans-federation._tcp.<domain>. Example:

 _ans-federation._tcp.europe.example.com.300INTXT\
 "core_id=eu-west"\
 "anchor_endpoint=https://ans-eu.example.com:443/anchor"\
 "signal_endpoint=https://ans-eu.example.com:443/signal"\
 "probe_endpoint=https://ans-eu.example.com:443/probe"\
 "public_key=jWK..."\
 "did=did:web:ans-eu.example.com"\
 "validator_id=val-eu-01"\
 "validator_reputation=87"\
 "reputation_source=https://reputation.example.com/eu-west.json"\
 "capabilities=revoke,namespace"

Validator nodes MUST be rate-limited and reputation-scored using non-self-issued attestations.

H.4.2 Anchor Thread Protocol (ATP)¶

• Transport: HTTPS with mutual TLS (SPIFFE IDs).
• Payload: Signed AnchorPacket protobuf, extended with sequence_number and optional replay flags.
• Consistency: Quorum acknowledgement (≥ 1⁄2 peers).
• Failure handling: exponential back-off + circuit breaker.
• Sequence: Monotonically increasing sequence_number per core, included in each packet.
• Replay Support: Upon reconnection, a peer may request missing packets using ReplayRequest.
• Recovery: Anchor history MUST be stored for at least T = 72h for replay on demand.

H.4.3 Signal Thread Protocol (STP)¶

• Transport: gRPC streaming.
• Payload: Signed CRDT delta frames. Each DeltaFrame MUST include:
  • timestamp
  • core_id
  • signature over payload + timestamp
  • validator_id (if applicable)
• Consistency: eventual (monotonic join).
• Conflict resolution: last-writer-wins with validator-weighted merge.
• Security: Receiving cores MUST verify all signatures and timestamps (< 5 min skew) before merging.
• Replay Protection: DeltaFrames with duplicate nonces or timestamps MUST be discarded.

H.4.4 Probe Thread Protocol (PTP)¶

• Transport: HTTP GET /probe?nonce="<rand>" returning signed JSON:

 {
 "core_id":"us-east",
 "nonce":123456,
 "block_height":15783922,
 "signature":"0xabc..."
 }

• Failure: 3 consecutive misses ⇒ mark unhealthy, drain traffic.

H.5 Auto-Healing Engine (AHE)¶

H.6 Policy & Governance¶

1. Policy Conflict Resolution

    // Example
    {
    "conflict_policy":{
    "default":"deny",
    "on_missing_fields":"deny",
    "on_reputation_mismatch":"defer_to_higher_weight"
    }
    }
   

   • If coreA allows federation with coreB but coreB denies coreA, the link MUST NOT activate.
   • Tie-breaking rules (e.g., based on validator weight or latency) MAY be defined but default is to deny.

2. Federation Policy DSL

    {
    "allow_cores":["*.example.com"],
    "max_latency_ms":50,
    "min_validators":2,
    "data_classes":["revocation","namespace"],
    "encrypt":true,
    "capability_merge_sla":{
    "revocation":500,
    "namespace":1000,
    "policy":1500
    }
    }
   

   capability_merge_sla defines maximum merge delay targets (in ms) per capability class across the federation.

3. Validator Weighting

    weight=log2(reputation+1)
   

4. Slashing

   • Malicious gossip: -20 % reputation
   • Repeated link drops: -5 % reputation

H.7 Message Schema¶

 syntax="proto3";
 packageans.federation.v1;

 messageAnchorPacket{
 stringfrom_core=1;
 stringto_core=2;
 uint64nonce=3;
 bytespayload_hash=4;
 bytessignature=5;
 oneofpayload{
 RevocationEventrevoke=10;
 NamespaceUpdatenamespace=11;
 ValidatorHeartbeatvhb=12;
 }
 }

 messageRevocationEvent{
 stringagent_id=1;
 stringreason=2;
 uint64block=3;
 }

 messageNamespaceUpdate{
 stringfqdn=1;
 repeatedstringcapabilities=2;
 }

H.8 Deployment Blueprint (Terraform Snippet)¶

 module"ans_federation"{
 source="gclouds/ans-federation/google"
 version="~> 0.1.1"

 cores={
 us-east={region="us-east4",asn=65001}
 eu-west={region="europe-west2",asn=65002}
 apac={region="asia-southeast1",asn=65003}
 }

 link_specs={
 anchor_latency_ms=50
 signal_latency_ms=200
 probe_interval_s=5
 }

 security={
 cert_issuer="spiffe://ans-federation.example.com"
 probe_keys_pub=["0xabc123...", "0xdef456..."]
 key_rotation_days=7
 }

 tls_version="1.3"
 }

H.9 Compliance Matrix¶

Appendix I:¶

I.1 AP2-Specific Glossary Terms¶

Agent Payments Protocol (AP2): Google's protocol for AI-driven payments between autonomous agents, defining message formats for payment authorization, settlement, and reconciliation. Payment-Grade Trust: ANS trust level requiring blockchain verification plus financial compliance validation (PCI DSS, AML, KYC). Settlement Agent: Specialized AP2 agent responsible for finalizing transactions and recording settlement on blockchain networks. Fraud Detection Capability: ANS capability declaration indicating real-time fraud analysis with machine learning models. Compliance Hash: Cryptographic hash of regulatory certification documents stored on-chain for tamper-proof verification. Transaction Attestation: Short-lived cryptographic token proving an agent's authorization to process payments up to a specific value limit.

I.2 Updated anslookup CLI Reference (AP2 Extensions)¶

New AP2-specific options: * --ap2-role: Filter by AP2 role (merchant, processor, shopping_assistant, escrow) * --ap2-payment-method: Filter by supported payment methods (card, crypto, digital_wallet) * --ap2-settlement-speed: Filter by settlement speed (realtime, batch, deferred) * --verify-compliance: Verify specific compliance certification (PCI_DSS, SOC_2, ISO_27001) * --check-stake: Validate minimum stake requirements for transaction volume * --ap2-settlement-address: Query settlement blockchain address * --request-attestation: Request contextual attestation for AP2 session

Example Commands:

 # Find high-value payment processors with fraud detection
anslookup--query"processor"--ap2-role"payment_processor"\
--ap2-payment-method"card"--trust-level"blockchain"--check-stake

 # Verify merchant compliance before large transaction
anslookupmerchant.example.ans--verify-compliance"PCI_DSS_4.0"\
--ap2-settlement-address--transaction-value5000

 # Get contextual attestation for payment session
anslookupprocessor.example.ans--request-attestation\
--context"payment_session_67890"--duration"30m"

References¶

[1] Google. "A2A (Agent-to-Agent) Protocol Specification." Google AI, 2024. https://github.com/google/A2A

[2] Anthropic, PBC. "Model Context Protocol (MCP)" 2025. https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2025-03-26

[3] IBM Research. "Agent Communication Protocol (ACP) Technical Documentation." IBM Research AI, 2024. https://agentcommunicationprotocol.dev/introduction/welcome

[4] W3C. "Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) v1.0." W3C Recommendation, July 2022. https://www.w3.org/TR/did-core/

[5] Internet Engineering Task Force. "DNS-Based Service Discovery." RFC 6763, February 2013. https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6763

[6] OpenAPI Initiative. "OpenAPI Specification v3.0.0." 2017. https://spec.openapis.org/oas/v3.0.0

[7] Ethereum Foundation. "Merkle Proofs for Offline Verification." Ethereum Improvement Proposals, EIP-1186, 2018. https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-1186

[8] Goldwasser, S., Micali, S., & Rackoff, C. "The Knowledge Complexity of Interactive Proof Systems." SIAM Journal on Computing, 18(1), 186-208, 1989.

[9] Cramer, R., Damgård, I., & Schoenmakers, B. "Proofs of Partial Knowledge and Simplified Design of Witness Hiding Protocols." Advances in Cryptology — CRYPTO '94, 174-187, 1994.

[10] NIST. "Zero-Knowledge Proofs." NIST Privacy Framework, 2023. https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/pec/zkproof