3 Steps To Solidifying Air-Gap Security

By Ericka Chickowski
 
Your isolated systems may not be as secure from exfiltration or external control as you think.
 The past year has challenged security assumptions about the almighty air gap, as several researchers have lately shown new and creative ways to facilitate attacks on systems and networks completely isolated from the Internet. Often viewed as the ultimate defense for the most sensitive systems, air-gap isolation is a way to make it much harder for attackers to communicate with machines, even if they still manage to infect it. But the technique may not be good enough protection in its own right. The research that has emerged since this time last year shows that, even with no Internet, Bluetooth, or other online connection, it is possible to use connections through peripherals, audio equipment, and even graphics cards to transmit information from these systems.
More importantly, the proofs of concept brought forward are not all farfetched. According to analysis done by a Symantec researcher last week on the work done against air gaps, at least a couple of them are pretty plausible, given the fact that attackers seeking out air-gapped systems are usually very motivated to crack these juicy targets.
 
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