Cryptographic security solutions can be applied to a portion of the data path or end to end, whichever is appropriate for your security policy. Generally, the greatest degree of security is provided when cryptographic methods are used end to end. However, if only portions of the data path are considered untrusted by an enterprise (such as the Internet) it may be adequate to protect only the untrusted portion with cryptography. z/OS® offers security protocols that can be configured to protect portions of the data path or the entire data path.