When a file is being copied from one server to another over the network, is it in transit or at rest?

• A. In transit.
• B. At rest.
• C. Neither.
• D. Both.

Answer: (A)

Moving a file from one server to another over a network means the data is in transit. Data in transit refers to bytes actively traveling between locations, as they are read from the source and transmitted across network links to the destination. Before the copy starts, the file sits at rest on the source storage; once the transfer finishes, it sits at rest on the destination storage. While the transfer is happening, some fragments may pass through buffers or temporary storage, but the key status during the move is that the data is in transit. Encrypting data in transit protects it from interception during this transmission.