NetFlow has made great strides in recent years as an extremely reliable and robust network traffic analysis tool, which has in turn made it very attractive for users who want to leverage it bring some extra security into their network as well. One critical feature of NetFlow that's provided a lot of extra value in terms of network security is network behavior analysis, which provides an extra layer of security to catch threats that other means may have missed.

Some have referred to this concept as the NetFlow security layer and it can be incorporated on several different levels with a variety of pre-built algorithms. In some cases, using the port or protocol information may provide the information needed to truly determine a threat. But, the insidiously-named APT (News - Alert)—Advanced Persistent Threat—often takes on the appearance of normal traffic, making port and protocol information shaky at best. Worse, an APT would also be invisible to detection methods involving behavioral or host baselining. It’s a good thing then that NetFlow's access to IP Host Reputation, also known as the Internet Threat Feed, has a much better chance of spotting problems before they become significant issues.

The idea of using NetFlow as a way to spot problems before they become serious is perhaps best summed up by Mike Schiffman, an expert in Cisco (News - Alert) security, who said, "NetFlow can tell us who's talking to who, but how can we tell if either who is a bad actor? By checking the reputation of the IP addresses at both ends of the conversation."

Network security should always be a high priority for any enterprise and using flexible NetFlow as a way to help watch for threats is a great way to augment security procedures already in place.

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