using System.Configuration;
using System.Diagnostics;

namespace ConsoleApp1
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            Configuration configuration = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
            ConfigurationSection section = configuration.GetSection("connectionStrings");

            if (!section.SectionInformation.IsProtected && !section.ElementInformation.IsLocked)
            {
                section.SectionInformation.ProtectSection("DataProtectionConfigurationProvider");
                section.SectionInformation.ForceSave = true;
                section.CurrentConfiguration.Save(ConfigurationSaveMode.Full);
            }

            Debug.Assert(section.SectionInformation.IsProtected);
        }
    }
}