A system and method for generating a plurality of authentication tags using a
plurality
of authentication mechanisms is disclosed. The plurality of authentication tags
can reflect different authentication strength-performance levels. It is a feature
of the present invention that a receiver is afforded increased flexibility in adaptively
choosing strength-performance levels. It is a further feature of the present invention
that multiple authentication tags can be used in multicast environments, where
different receivers may have different processor capabilities or security policies.
