What does "encryption in transit" aim to protect?

Encryption in transit is specifically designed to protect data that is actively being transmitted over a network. This technique ensures that the information remains confidential and secure while it moves from one point to another, such as from a client's device to a server or between servers during communication. By applying encryption during transit, any unauthorized entities attempting to intercept the data will only see scrambled information, making it unreadable and thereby safeguarding the integrity and confidentiality of the data while it is being communicated.

The other options pertain to different states of data. Static data stored on a server is protected through methods like encryption at rest, whereas data backed up in the cloud also involves encryption techniques meant for static data. Data retrieved from databases similarly falls under the umbrella of data at rest unless it is actively transmitted over the network. Therefore, while they may all require protection through various encryption methods, the term "encryption in transit" is specifically focused on securing data during its transmission.