Understanding Air-Gap Backups
An air gap backup is an offline backup system where the backup copy of a data set is not accessible from the network. This can mean physically isolating the backup storage or maintaining a network that is not interconnected with the internet or other external networks. The rationale is straightforward – if the backup is not accessible, it cannot be tampered with. This makes air gap backups the holy grail when it comes to data protection and recovery.

The necessity for air gap systems has been made painfully clear by the staggering rise in ransomware attacks, where hackers gain access to a system and encrypt data, demanding a ransom for its release. With an air gap backup, even if the primary system is compromised, the backup remains intact and recoverable, shining a light in the darkest times of a cybersecurity incident.