CompTIA Linux+ XK0-006 (V8) Practice Question

The correct command is gpg --encrypt --recipient [email protected] api_keys.conf. This uses asymmetric encryption with the colleague's public key to ensure confidentiality. Only the holder of the corresponding private key, the colleague, can decrypt the file. The --sign option provides integrity and authenticity by creating a digital signature with the sender's private key, but it does not encrypt the file's contents. The --decrypt option is the reverse operation, used by the recipient to read an encrypted file, not by the sender to create one. The --symmetric option also encrypts the file, but it uses a single shared passphrase (symmetric encryption) instead of the colleague's specific public key, which was the method indicated by the scenario.