Tectia ConnectSecure Automates Secure Data Transfer

Tectia ConnectSecure is an ideal product in large enterprise networks for rapid deployment of secured and encrypted TCP/IP connections. The enterprise-class secure FTP-to-SFTP conversion and FTP tunneling features extend the native secure file transfer client functionality based on Secure Shell v2.

Tectia ConnectSecure works with any type of Internet connection and is widely applicable, totally independent of the network topology and access methods.

Figure 1.1. Tectia ConnectSecure

In environments where it is not feasible to replace existing FTP clients or servers, the existing FTP clients and scripts can continue to be used with Tectia ConnectSecure. The end users can continue using their familiar tools without retraining on new tools. Security can be provided to existing file transfer tools and scripts, and even to applications with built-in file transfers with the following methods:

FTP-SFTP conversion, connections from an FTP client are transparently captured by Tectia ConnectSecure, converted to SFTP, and directed to a Secure Shell SFTP server. No changes to the original FTP client are needed, it can remain being used as before. A Secure Shell server is required at the server end.
FTP tunneling, a secure tunnel is created between an FTP client and an FTP server. All material is sent in encrypted format inside a Secure Shell tunnel and secured from eavesdropping. The FTP clients and servers can continue being used.
Transparent TCP tunneling, otherwise unsecured TCP-based application traffic, such as emails, can be sent in encrypted format. With the feature, problems associated with more traditional IPSec-based VPN technologies, such as breaking the connection when traversing a network based on network address translation, can be avoided.

The following table lists the benefits offered by each of the FTP replacement methods.

Table 1.1. Differences between FTP and secure file transfer methods

Feature	FTP	SFTP	FTP-SFTP Conversion	Transparent FTP Tunneling
Automated scripts can be used	x	x	x	x
FTP application used unmodified	x		x	x
Original FTP client running	x		x	x
Original FTP server running	x			x
Configured on Tectia		x	x	x
Fallback to FTP is possible	N/A		x	x
SFTP GUI available on Windows	N/A	x	N/A	N/A

Tectia ConnectSecure can be integrated to an existing application through an SFTP application programming interface (API) for a secure file transfer capability. Tectia ConnectSecure includes APIs for C and Java. After the integration, secure file transfers can be triggered from the application. The integration can be made, for example, to an application responsible for data warehouse feeds, extranet applications, Windows desktop applications or third-party file transfer management applications.