What is Air-Gapped Backup?
An air-gapped backup is physically or logically isolated from your network — offline drives, rotated media or vaults reachable only through separate credentials and channels. If attackers fully control your environment, the air gap keeps at least one copy untouchable.
Why Air-Gapped Backup matters for Australian businesses
Data is one of your most valuable business assets, and losing it — whether through ransomware, hardware failure, or natural disaster — can be catastrophic. Understanding backup and disaster recovery concepts ensures you can make informed decisions about protecting your business and recovering quickly when things go wrong.
For small and medium businesses in particular, air-gapped backups can make a real difference in maintaining a secure, efficient, and resilient IT environment. Whether you are reviewing your current setup or planning improvements, understanding the role of air-gapped backups in your broader IT strategy will help you have more informed conversations with your IT provider and make better decisions for your business.
Related terms
Immutable Backup • 3-2-1 Backup Rule • Cloud Backup
How All IT Services can help
At All IT Services, we help businesses across Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and regional NSW implement and manage air-gapped backups as part of our comprehensive backup and disaster recovery services. If you have questions about how this fits into your IT strategy, contact our team for a no-obligation consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an air-gapped backup?
A backup kept disconnected from your network and identity systems — physically offline or logically isolated — so compromise of your environment cannot reach it.
Is cloud backup air-gapped?
Not automatically — if it shares credentials with your network, attackers can reach it. Separate authentication, immutability or true offline copies create genuine isolation.
Do air-gapped backups still matter with immutability?
They are complementary: immutability protects online copies, while air gaps protect against platform-level failures and account takeover. Critical data deserves both.