Which action should be taken to ensure that unencrypted network traffic is protected?

The most effective way to protect network traffic from interception is Transport Layer Security (TLS). TLS provides confidentiality, integrity, and authentication by encrypting data as it travels between client and server. Unlike older protocols like SSL, which is now deprecated due to vulnerabilities, TLS is the industry-standard protocol endorsed by modern security frameworks.

Compression and password protection through GZ is not a reliable method, as it does not offer strong encryption or resistance against sophisticated interception attacks. GRE is a tunneling protocol and does not inherently provide encryption.

By implementing TLS, organizations ensure protection against on-path attacks, replay attacks, and packet sniffing. TLS also supports features such as forward secrecy and certificate-based authentication, ensuring both secure data transmission and mutual trust between endpoints. In compliance-driven industries like healthcare and finance, TLS is explicitly mandated for protecting sensitive information in transit.