If we want to talk about SFTP, we absolutely have to start with FTP.File Transfer Protocol is the father of all protocols, being developed in the early ’70s, way before the TCP and IP were born. As the name implies, it allows file and data transfers between a computer and a server over a network connection (the client-server model).
At the time when #FTP was developed, security wasn’t envisioned in the form we know today, let alone the complex security challenges we’ve come to meet—thus, drawbacks such as data transparency and an increased vulnerability to attacks were pretty common. The solution to this problem was to fabricate a protocol of data transfer made through a secure connection. Fast-forward 30 years and the #SFTP was conceived. Of course, in computer-era years, this means ages.
SFTP, short for
SSH File Transport Protocol, is a network protocol that provides a trio of file access, transfer, and management between a client and a server, done via a secure connection, with an emphasis on security. It was developed as a #
SSH Protocol extension by the
Internet Engineering Task Force, IETF in short, over a time span of almost 10 years. Note that the secure connection is done through the SSH protocol. Moreover, it requires an encrypted public key authentication, thus “sealing” the transfer. Another perk is that it’s packet-based, making transfers faster, as opposed to FTP which is text-based.
SFTP has been in use for about two decades, a period in which the depth and complexity of the web environment have evolved at a fast pace. While its popularity peaked, it has also addressed the need for a secure and fast transfer connection. Nowadays, we see some cracks in the giant SFTP, as its capabilities don’t support the present web standards.
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