Security performance

Several protocols and mechanisms aims to enforce the various dimensions of security in applications ranging from e-mail to e-commerce transactions. Most use encryption as a basic component. Adding such mechanisms and procedures to applications and systems does not come cheaply, however. Security is intrusive and increases the total cost of computer-system ownership. He also indicates that security is about trade-offs, rather than absolutes, and that we should strive for good-enough security, not for more security than necessary. This thought underlies the following description of some security trade-offs in the areas of performance and scalability. My analysis is quantitative in nature and aims to illustrate the effect of using a specific security protocol or set of cryptographic algorithms on a computer system´s performance.