Simulation of the encryption of NetFlow packet capturing system using IPSec

This paper investigates the effectiveness of IPSec as encryption tools in securing NetFlow packets through an encapsulated channel in a simulated network traffic model. NetFlow´s flow recording is one of the most serious threats that has broad significance in NetFlow´s flow recording technology. By securing the NetFlow, the administrator could enforce a privacy policy on the data that is recorded. We employ IPSec as encryption tool that encapsulates the flow and turns it into a secured channel. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the CPU and memory utilization during the process will not have a big impact on machine´s performance. Simulation results show that NetFlow´s flow data are successfully recorded and encrypted by IPSec. It is found that this process has not consumed more memory which only differs by 0.2% from normal operation and that the CPU performance is only increased by 6.5%.