Highly classified data is being shared on a company network. The systems administrator needs to ensure the data is safe and only necessary personnel can access it. Which of the following protocols…

SSH provides encrypted remote terminal access and command execution but is not itself a file-sharing or file-transfer protocol for distributing data across the network.

SCP uses the SSH (Secure Shell) protocol as its underlying transport layer, providing strong cryptographic encryption for both the login session and all file data being transferred. This ensures that classified data cannot be intercepted or read in transit, and access is controlled via SSH authentication mechanisms, satisfying the requirement that only authorized personnel can access the data.

NTP (Network Time Protocol) is used solely to synchronize system clocks across networked devices and has no capability to transfer or share data files.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) transmits both credentials and file contents in plaintext over the network, making it completely unsuitable for sharing highly classified information.