Decision process for automated selection of security protocols

Todaypsilas Internet has a growing number of protocols and mechanisms to protect data in transmission. One can choose from IP Security (IPsec), Transport Layer Security (TLS), and many other protocols. However, available security protocols and mechanisms are not widely used due to usability issues [1], [2] and because users often underestimate the risk their data is exposed to. An approach to solve this problem consists of automated selection and configuration of available security protocols in a user-transparent way. In this paper, we present a method for automatically choosing the right security protocol based on Security, Quality of Service, and Energy Consumption aspects. We describe the necessary aspects, value functions, and a hierarchical, flexible, and efficient decision process.