0002 — The object, not the connection, is the unit of security

• Status: accepted
• Date: 2026-07-27

Context

Existing agent protocols secure the transport connection (TLS/QUIC) but leave the individual message un-signed, its effect undeclared, and its authorization implicit. A message that crosses a relay, is stored, or is replayed loses all its guarantees the moment it leaves the connection.

Decision

The object is the unit of security and governance. Each object is self-secured: signed, content-identified, effect-labeled, identity-bound, and auditable, independently of any transport. The same signed object carries identical object-level guarantees over N-PAMP, QUIC, WebSocket, or HTTP.

Consequences

Object-level guarantees (integrity, identity, non-repudiation, effect, audit) survive relays, storage, and replay. Confidentiality, forward secrecy, and connection authentication remain the transport's job (conditional guarantees), and a sensitive object is refused over a cleartext transport. Transports become interchangeable carriers; the binding adds only framing.