Patent ID: 8156536

Claim:
A method comprising: issuing a request from a first communication device in a communication network to establish a communication session with a second communication device in the communication network, the request containing a first security level associated with a first party at the first communication device; receiving, by the first communication device, a response to the request from the second communication device, the response containing a second security level associated with a second party at the second communication device; identifying a security level for communications during the session based on the first and second security levels, wherein if the second security level matches the first security level, the first security level is identified as the security level for the session, if the second security level is a higher security level than the first security level, the first security level is identified as the security level for the session, and if the second security level is a lower security level than the first security level, the second security level is identified as the security level for the session; and establishing the session, via the network, at the identified security level.