What does S-FTP do?

What does S-FTP do?

• A. Standard FTP with no encryption.
• B. A protocol for secure file transfer using SSH.
• C. Secure FTP
• D. A protocol that encrypts authentication information and data in transit.

Answer: (D)

S-FTP is about protecting the file transfer channel by encryption, so both the login information and the file data are hidden as they move across the network. It typically uses SSH to create a secure, encrypted channel, which means credentials entered during login can’t be read by anyone intercepting the traffic and the files being transferred can’t be eavesdropped or tampered with in transit. This combination—encryption of authentication details plus encryption of the data itself in transit—is what makes S-FTP secure. Plain FTP transmits credentials and data in the clear, so it isn’t secure. A description like “a protocol for secure file transfer using SSH” is true but vague about exactly what gets encrypted. “Secure FTP” could refer to FTPS or other variants, but doesn’t specify the encryption of both authentication info and data in transit, which is the key behavior of S-FTP.

S-FTP is about protecting the file transfer channel by encryption, so both the login information and the file data are hidden as they move across the network. It typically uses SSH to create a secure, encrypted channel, which means credentials entered during login can’t be read by anyone intercepting the traffic and the files being transferred can’t be eavesdropped or tampered with in transit. This combination—encryption of authentication details plus encryption of the data itself in transit—is what makes S-FTP secure.

Plain FTP transmits credentials and data in the clear, so it isn’t secure. A description like “a protocol for secure file transfer using SSH” is true but vague about exactly what gets encrypted. “Secure FTP” could refer to FTPS or other variants, but doesn’t specify the encryption of both authentication info and data in transit, which is the key behavior of S-FTP.