A protected communication link established between the cryptographic module and a sender or receiver (including another cryptographic module) to securely communicate and verify the validity of plaintext CSPs, keys, authentication data, and other sensitive data. Also called a secure channel.
Source(s):
NIST SP 800-152
under Trusted channel
A channel where the endpoints are known and data integrity is protected in transit. Depending on the communications protocol used, data privacy may be protected in transit. Examples include transport layer security (TLS), IP security (IPSec), and secure physical connection.
Source(s):
CNSSI 4009-2015