A network device may receive, from an application on a user device, a first network packet associated with a packet flow. The network device may identify an application identifier of the first network packet, wherein the application identifier identifies the application on the user device. The network device may select, based on the application identifier, a security protocol, wherein the security protocol is associated with at least one of an authentication header (AH) or an encryption algorithm. The network device may selectively apply, to a second network packet associated with the packet flow, at least one of the AH or the encryption algorithm, associated with the security protocol, to generate a protected network packet. The network device may transmit the protected network packet.