A company was recently audited by a third party. The audit revealed the company's network devices were transferring files in the clear. Which of the following protocols should the company use to…

HTTPS is primarily used for secure web communication and API interactions, not typically as the dedicated secure file transfer protocol for direct device-to-device file transfers on network devices in the same manner as SCP or SFTP.

LDAPS is used for secure communication with directory services like Active Directory for authentication and authorization purposes, not for transferring general files between network devices.

Secure Copy Protocol (SCP) utilizes Secure Shell (SSH) to establish an encrypted tunnel for transferring files between a local host and a remote host, or between two remote hosts. This encryption protects both the authentication credentials and the file data during transfer, directly resolving the issue of files being transferred 'in the clear'.

SNMPv3 provides secure network device monitoring and management through encryption and authentication, but it is designed for exchanging management information (e.g., traps, gets, sets) and not for general file transfer operations.