Mind the (Air) Gap

Mind the (Air) Gap

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The reliable backup, organization and archiving of your company data must have top priority. In times of cyber war, phishing and ransomware attacks, data backup plays a crucial role. An excellent protection against data theft or misuse is air gap (or air gapping). We explain why air gaps are essential for reliable and cost-effective backup.

In short, an air gap means physical isolation from other computers, intranets, or the Internet by transporting a storage medium. The basic concept of an air gap is simple: if data cannot be accessed, it cannot be infected, tampered with, or corrupted.

What is Air Gap?

Air Gap is by no means a new security strategy. The most famous example is found in the 1996 remake of the television series Mission: Impossible, which starred Tom Cruise. Here's the iconic scene of Ethan Hawk dangling inches from a pressure-sensitive floor as he attempts to hack into the computer in the CIA HQ's "Dark Room" to steal the NOC list.

Data backup is perfect - as long as there is no secret agent lurking in your ventilation shafts. Want to protect a file so no one can ever steal it? Then make sure that nobody can access it!

How does Air Gap work?

The good news first: You don't need your own "dark room" with your own computer protected by an input with voiceprint and retina scan and a temperature sensor with a pressure-sensitive floor.

The concept of the air gap was originally developed as a strategy to protect top-secret government networks; however, with the emergence and massive increase in cybercrime, the technology has become an integral part of the mainstream as well.

Air Gap can actually be a low tech solution to a high tech problem. In fact, the most reliable and cost-effective way of archiving and backing up your data is to use hard drives and store them offline. And in the end, that's a lot easier than you might think.

What you can do?

Be realistic about air gaps. Analyze your circumstances and think in detail about desired outcomes, imaginable risks, and potential vulnerabilities for your specific air gap use case. For backups, physical air gaps are practically indispensable if you want to put in a really strong layer of cyber protection.

To ensure your system is completely isolated, start with the basics: No traffic to the system. Then build from there and ask the crucial questions:

  • Who needs to communicate with the system? Which user or class of users?
  • How should they access the system?
  • What security levels do you need?

Answering these questions will give you the information you need to set and maintain policies.

Backgrounder: Getting Started

It's best to read our backgrounder, where you can start and how you can use Air Gap to your advantage - even without tapes. It's a lot easier than scouring the rafters for super spies, by the way.

Oh, but before you click any further, storing files in the cloud is the polar opposite of Air Gap. Online service providers are also under constant attack and suffer massive data loss fairly regularly. After all, offline is something else…

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About FAST LTA the

FAST LTA is the specialist for secure secondary and long-term storage systems. The combination of durable and low-maintenance hardware, integrated software for data backup and on-site maintenance contracts with a term of up to 10 years ensure long-term, cost-effective storage of data from archive and backup applications. In-house developments such as local erasure coding, sealing using hardware WORM and efficient energy management help medium-sized customers to protect themselves against data loss through ransomware attacks and misconfiguration and to meet regulatory and legal requirements (GDPR). The Munich provider's solutions have proven themselves in thousands of installations in healthcare, public administration, film/TV/video and industry.


 

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