# Beyond Context Sharing: A Unified Agent Communication Protocol (ACP) for Secure, Federated, and Autonomous Agent-to-Agent (A2A) Orchestration

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.15055 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.15055/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Agent threats, guardrails and governance, one of 16 directions in LLM agents and tool use.
- Builds on 4 of its 16 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 11 Feb 2026.

## Placed in

- LLM agents and tool use / [Agent threats, guardrails and governance](https://mlsanity.com/agents/agent-threats-guardrails-and-governance/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [A Survey of AI Agent Protocols](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.16736/) (2025)
- [Advancing Multi-Agent Systems Through Model Context Protocol: Architecture, Implementation, and Applications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.21030/) (2025)
- [AI Agents: Evolution, Architecture, and Real-World Applications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.12687/) (2025)
- [LLM Agent Communication Protocol (LACP) Requires Urgent Standardization: A Telecom-Inspired Protocol is Necessary](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.13821/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [MAGIQ: A Post-Quantum Multi-Agentic AI Governance System with Provable Security](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.06933/) (2026)
- [The Internet of Agentic AI: Communication, Coordination, and Collective Intelligence at Scale](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.12835/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

In the artificial intelligence space, as we transition from isolated large language models to autonomous agents capable of complex reasoning and tool use. While foundational architectures and local context management protocols have been established, the challenge of cross-platform, decentralized, and secure interaction remains a significant barrier to the realization of a truly Agentic Web. Building upon the foundations of AI agent architectures and the Model Context Protocol (MCP) for multi-agent coordination, this paper introduces the Agent Communication Protocol (ACP). ACP provides a standardized framework for Agent-to-Agent (AA) interaction, enabling heterogeneous agents to discover, negotiate, and execute collaborative workflows across disparate environments. We propose a federated orchestration model that integrates decentralized identity verification, semantic intent mapping, and automated service-level agreements. Our evaluation demonstrates that ACP reduces inter-agent communication latency by % while maintaining a zero-trust security posture. This work represents a critical advancement toward a scalable and interoperable ecosystem of autonomous digital entities