The current setup we have is two servers that are held internally in my building. One of these is only accessible internally, the other is public facing. The internal server communicates with the external one (to move files between them), and no other server.
Our network security team have recommended we use HTTPS for this communication, rather than HTTP - "for security reasons". I am of course not going to question their choice, but it has left me wondering what the actual benefits of this situation are.
My current understanding is that HTTPS prevents man-in-the-middle attacks, and ensures you are communicating with the server you think you are.
In this case, we own both servers and they are connected directly (physically, the entire network between them is in our control). Also, if somebody did gain access to either server, they would be able to access the files we move between them directly - whether we were using HTTP or HTTPS. So it feels like using HTTPS is not adding any additional security here (which I'm sure means I am missing something important)
In this situation, what benefits does using HTTPS provide us?