The Ultimate Defense: What Is an Air Gapped Computer?

The primary cons of air gaps come from the added administrative / system-management workload that comes from successfully running an air gap network. See how our intelligent, autonomous cybersecurity platform harnesses the power of data and AI to protect your organization now and into the future. Learn what constitutes a data breach and how to implement measures to prevent them. Establish a dedicated incident response team to handle security incidents quickly.

Financial Institutions

Air-gapped networks are used to protect many types of critical systems from hackers or other malicious threat actors. For example, air-gapped networks are used to support the stock market, the military, government agencies and industrial power industries. Air-gapped systems are still susceptible to electromagnetic leakage, which are waveforms emitted from the computing devices or wires that a hacker can analyze and use to attack the system. To prevent electromagnetic exploits, there’s usually a specified amount of space between the air-gapped system and the outside walls, as well as space between its wires and the wires of other technical equipment. For how to buy sell and trade cryptocurrencies a system with extremely sensitive data, an organization can use a Faraday cage to prevent electromagnetic radiation from escaping from the air-gapped equipment. Organizations conducting critical research into areas as far-ranging as aerospace, pharmaceutical and scientific advancement use air gapping to protect the data they rely on most.

Same-Environment Air Gap

Just like using public or private cloud, air gapping is one tool in your arsenal, and should not be the only step you take to secure your data. Ideally, both solutions should be used side by side for maximum protection. This is especially true in light of the other 10 best secure password managers in 2020 security cons of air gapping, as we discuss below. That said, cloud storage is infinitely more safe against crypto-ransomware than backing up your files to a local drive, NAS, or connected external disk. And the level of redundancy and safeguards it offers for your data can’t be overstated. Your backups are made infinitely more secure by physically moving them off-site, removing them from public access, and making sure they are cut from internet or network access.

Training should include recognizing phishing attempts, safely handling data, and understanding the significance of the isolation measures in place. Empowering employees with this knowledge enhances the security posture and ensures that virtual air gaps are effectively maintained. Organizations constantly transmit sensitive data across networks and hence, cyberattacks are on the rise. Ransomware, for example, is one of the most common cyber threats these days and Cybersecurity Ventures predicts the global cost of ransomware attacks to increase to $265bn by 2031. Instead, it makes sense to think carefully about desired outcomes, risks and vulnerabilities for a specific air gap use case.

When used as part of a comprehensive DR approach, air gapping is a strong data protection tool, helping keep organizations safe from cyberattacks, efforts to steal, expose, alter, disable or destroy data or digital devices. Air-gapped systems provide a vital layer of defense in addition to firewalls, safeguarding data from human error and the vulnerabilities of untrusted networks. Air gaps are typically used by organizations to prevent malicious actors, such as hackers, viruses or natural disasters from causing irreparable harm to digital assets. Many air gap backups help protect highly classified information, including military secrets, financial data and systems that control critical pieces of infrastructure like water storage, nuclear power and aviation. The main and most obvious benefit of air gapping is isolating sensitive data backups from vulnerable networks. Even private networks with the most up-to-date security measures might still be vulnerable to unknown or unaccounted cyberthreats, insider threats and human error.

Within an air-gapped network, all communications will become isolated from other internet networks. Think of it as a security firewall that can protect your sensitive data. With its ability to preserve data from various threats and digital theft, the air gap technology seems like a valuable security measure. Organizations have used this technology for many years, so having the physical workforce to connect disks to the web has not been a problem. But nowadays it is no longer practical and the use of the air gap method can bring certain disadvantages. Hackers who need physical access to a site in order to penetrate an air-gapped environment are usually clever enough to fake their way in by impersonating real employees or other ruses.

DATA THREAT ANALYTICS

These controls limit the number of entry points and restrict network access to only authorized individuals or systems. By reducing the amount of connectivity, the attack surface is significantly reduced, making it harder for malicious actors to compromise the network.. This means that all network interfaces must be disconnected from the air-gapped system. This includes the unplugging of network cables, the disabling of wireless connections, and any other electronic communication modes that may apply.

Air Gapping Benefits

Though these connections are usually created for benign reasons, it pays to remain informed. There is also a misconception that air gapping is a particularly hard thing to do, and only employed by high-level enterprise businesses banking-as-a-platform and government agencies, not small to medium businesses or organizations. This belief acts as an impediment, as people put air gapping in the “too hard” basket.

Importance of air-gapped networks in cybersecurity

• In some cases, a hybrid approach combining air-gapped networks with other security measures may be considered to address specific challenges and strike a balance between security and functionality.
• Air-gapped systems in the aerospace industry secure aircraft design and manufacturing data.
• Accelerate threat detection, expedite responses and protect user identity and datasets while keeping cybersecurity teams in the loop and in charge.

Monitoring tools need to be in place for purposes of keeping track of as well as logs on the activities of the systems. Isolation restricts data transfer and integration with other system sets that could have boosted efficiency and encouraged collaboration. If you do choose to take the air-gapping approach, here are several measures you can take to better defend an air-gapped environment.

Air gap backups are a data storage tactic that’s typically used in disaster recovery (DR) to help organizations prevent data loss and business disruption during a catastrophic event. In an air gap backup, critical information is copied and stored on a system or air gapped network not easily accessible over the internet, but where an organization can access it once the threat has passed. An air gap in cybersecurity refers to a network security measure that involves physically isolating a computer or network from other networks, including the Internet and unsecured local networks.