A novel dataset for encrypted virtual private network traffic

Encryption of network traffic should guarantee anonymity and prevent potential interception of information. Encrypted virtual private networks (VPNs) are designed to create special data tunnels that allow reliable transmission between networks and/or end users. However, as has been shown in a number of scientific papers, encryption alone may not be sufficient to secure data transmissions in the sense that certain information may be exposed. Our team has constructed a large dataset that contains generated encrypted network traffic data. This dataset contains a general network traffic model consisting of different types of network traffic such as web, emailing, video conferencing, video streaming, and ter-minal services. For the same network traffic model, data are measured for different scenarios, i.e., for data traffic through different types of VPNs and without VPNs. Additionally, the dataset contains the initial handshake of the VPN connec-tions. The dataset can be used by various data scientists deal-ing with the classification of encrypted network traffic and encrypted VPNs.