Air-Gapping Backup: What Is It & How It Protects Your Data

[Definition] What Is Air-Gapping Backup

Air-gapping backup is an offline data protection strategy, which, in technology, physically isolates your backup storage media, such as internal & external hard drives, USB flash drives, or tapes, from the main Internet and network. By doing so, organizations can ensure that their backups are not vulnerable to cyber-attacks and can provide a reliable and secure method for data protection.

By physically cutting the backups to the Internet, also called offsite backup, air-gapped backup adds an extra layer of protection for your data and provides a high level of data security for the data. It is the choice for most organizations that need high-intensity data security.

[Benefits] What Are the Advantages of Air-gapped Backup

• First of all, the most significant advantage of the air-gapped backup is its reliability.

Because the backup media of the air-gapped backup is physically disconnected from the Internet, it is not susceptible to cyberattacks that can compromise online backups or cause data loss. If a ransomware attack or other cyber incident, organizations can use air-gapped backups to restore their lost data, ensuring business continuity and reducing the impact of the incident.

• Another flash point of an air-gapping backup is its high level of security for organizations that are dealing with sensitive and high confidentiality information.

By using encryption backup and other advanced approaches, organizations can protect their backup data from unauthorized access, even if the backup media is lost or stolen.

[Practices] Use Air-Gapping Backup to Protect Your Data

Air gap backup is indeed an excellent backup method to protect your sensitive data. Applying air-gapped backups requires careful planning and execution to ensure maximum effectiveness. Here are some best practices to follow when you decide to implement this backup strategy:

• Identify which data requires air-gapping: Not all data requires an air-gapped backup except for these very crucial and sensitive data, so it is important to conduct a risk assessment to determine which data assets need this security measure.
• Use physical barriers to create the air gap: Firewalls, air-gapped Internet, and unplugged cables are some specific examples of physical barriers that can be used to create the air gap.
• Implement strict access controls: Access controls such as biometric authentication, smart cards, or multi-factor authentication can help ensure that only authorized personnel can access the air-gapped backup media.

• Monitor the air-gapped backup media for anomalies: Regularly reviewing and monitoring the backup media can help detect any unusual activities, such as unauthorized access attempts or data exfiltration.

• Check backups regularly: To ensure the effectiveness of air-gapped backups, you are supposed to regularly test backup and recovery procedures, and ensure it works properly.

Air gapping backup isn't such an easy backup method because it can be time-consuming and requires cautious coordination to ensure that backups are created regularly and are up to date, and ensure continuous data protection. What's more, air-gapped backups require specialized personnel to manage the whole process.

But on the other hand, when you use and follow this backup way, organizations can ensure that their data remains safe and secure, even in the face of evolving cyber threats.

Sum Up

In conclusion, air-gapping backup is a reliable and secure method for data protection, especially for organizations that handle sensitive information.

By implementing best practices and regularly testing backup and recovery procedures, organizations can ensure that they are prepared to withstand cyber incidents and other disruptions.