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🔐 Secure File Transfer in Shell (SFTP-Shell)

A secure file transfer system written in pure Bash that leverages industry-standard encryption tools (OpenSSL & GPG) to ensure files are safely shared over insecure networks using SCP or RSYNC over SSH.

🎯 Project Goal

This project aims to provide a minimal, secure, and easy-to-use command-line tool to:

  • Encrypt sensitive files locally before sending them.
  • Transfer files securely using existing encrypted channels (SCP/RSYNC via SSH).
  • Allow decryption only by authorized users (via password or public key).
  • Be lightweight and run on most UNIX-based systems without dependencies on heavy software.

Team Members

  • Mohamed Wael
  • Eslaam Ibrahim
  • Malak Ali

🔒 Security Approach

Technique Tool Used Notes
Symmetric Encryption OpenSSL (AES-256-CBC) User-provided password; fast and simple.
Asymmetric Encryption GPG Secure key-based encryption; no password sharing.
Transfer Layer SCP / RSYNC Uses SSH; encrypted and authenticated.

All encryption happens locally, so no plain data is sent over the network. Passwords are not stored, only used in memory temporarily.

📦 Features

  • 📁 Upload or download mode
  • 🔐 Two encryption options:
    • AES-256 (OpenSSL)
    • GPG (PGP standard)
  • 📤 Transfer via:
    • scp (simple & secure)
    • rsync (efficient for large or repeated transfers)
  • ✅ Error checking at each step
  • 🧠 Modular functions for easy customization
  • 🧪 Temporary password handling using mktemp

📚 Use Cases

  • ✅ System admins sending sensitive configuration files.
  • ✅ Developers deploying encrypted backups.
  • ✅ Students learning about secure file sharing and Bash scripting.
  • ✅ Transferring academic or medical documents securely.

⚙️ How It Works (Internal Flow)

Step 1: User chooses upload or download
Step 2: User selects encryption method (AES or GPG)
Step 3: Script encrypts (upload) or decrypts (download) the file
Step 4: File is transferred via SCP or RSYNC
Step 5: User is notified of success/failure

🧰 Requirements

Make sure you have these tools installed:

  • bash
  • openssl
  • gpg
  • scp
  • rsync
  • ssh

Install using:

sudo apt install openssh-client rsync openssl gnupg

🚀 Getting Started

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/your-username/secure-file-transfer-shell.git
cd secure-file-transfer-shell

2. Make the script executable

chmod +x SFTP.sh

3. Run the script

./SFTP.sh

Follow the menu instructions interactively.

🧪 Example: Uploading with AES

./SFTP.sh

Follow prompts:

  • Choose option 1 (Upload)
  • Choose AES encryption
  • Enter file name
  • Choose transfer method
  • Enter destination (e.g. user@host:/path)

🛡️ GPG Encryption Guide

To use asymmetric encryption with GPG, follow these steps:

Generate your key:

gpg --full-generate-key

Share your public key:

gpg --armor --export [email protected]

Import a recipient key:

gpg --import recipient-key.asc

🤝 Contributions

Feel free to fork this repo, suggest features, or submit pull requests!