Which encryption method is commonly used to secure data in transit?

SSL/TLS is widely used to secure data in transit, making it the correct answer to the question. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and its successor TLS (Transport Layer Security) are cryptographic protocols designed to provide secure communication over a computer network. They achieve this by encrypting the data being transmitted between clients and servers, which helps to protect the information from interception and tampering by malicious actors. This is particularly crucial for sensitive data exchanges, such as online banking transactions and personal information submission.

The other options listed serve different purposes in the realm of cybersecurity. MD5 is a hashing algorithm primarily used for data integrity verification, not for encryption. AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is an encryption standard but is typically used for encrypting data at rest rather than data in transit. Likewise, SHA-1 is another hashing algorithm focused on data integrity and not on securing data exchanges during transmission. Therefore, SSL/TLS stands out as the prevailing method for ensuring secure data in transit.