An integrated framework of security tool selection using fuzzy regression and physical programming

Abstract

Faced with an increase of malicious threats from the Internet as well as local area networks, many companies are considering deploying a security system. To help a decision maker select a suitable security tool, this paper proposed a three-step integrated framework using linear fuzzy regression (LFR) and physical programming (PP). First, based on the experts' estimations on security criteria, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and quality function deployment (QFD) are employed to specify an intermediate score for each criterion and the relationship among these criteria. Next, evaluation value of each criterion is computed by using LFR. Finally, a goal programming (GP) method is customized to obtain the most appropriate security tool for an organization, considering a tradeoff among the multi-objectives associated with quality, credibility and costs, utilizing the relative weights calculated by the physical programming weights (PPW) algorithm. A numerical example provided illustrates the advantages and contributions of this approach. Proposed approach is anticipated to help a decision maker select a suitable security tool by taking advantage of experts' experience, with noises eliminated, as well as the accuracy of mathematical optimization methods.