The Air Gap Test
More providers now describe cloud storage as air-gapped. Four questions show whether your data is physically disconnected, or still online behind a login.
01The difference
One removes the route to your data whenever nobody is using it. The other keeps your data online and relies on software to keep people out. Both have a place. Only one is offline.
Offline Secure Storage®Non-IP controlled
A cloud vault called air-gappedOnline behind a login
How access works
How it worksOffline Secure Storage®A new approach to data storage
Records and recovery copies, kept apart from everyday systems
Upload in your browser during a session
The session ends and your Vault is physically disconnected
A command from your registered phone, then MFA
End the session, or let it time out, and the path is removed again
02Check your provider
Put each question to your provider and record the answer. If they cannot answer clearly, count it as a No.
03Side by side
The same questions, answered for a cloud vault described as air-gapped and for a Firevault Vault.
| Question | Cloud vault | Offline Secure Storage® |
|---|---|---|
| Where your data sits | Shared cloud infrastructure | Dedicated physical drives in a Firevault Bunker, in Tier 3 data centres in the UK and Europe |
| When nobody is using it | Online, behind a login and encryption | Physically disconnected at the hardware level (Layer 1) |
| How you get in | A website or app login, over the internet | A command from your registered phone, outside the data path, then credentials and MFA |
| How long it stays open | Always available online | A time-bound session of up to 120 minutes, and every session is logged |
| Who it belongs to | An account on a shared platform | One Vault per person, identity verified |
| "Air-gapped" means | Usually logical isolation: software rules on connected systems | No network path while your Vault is closed |
| If the holder cannot act | Account recovery rules | Vault Buddy: a nominated person, verified, for a supervised window |
Firevault is certified to Cyber Essentials Plus. Offline Secure Storage® can help support your data protection and resilience obligations.
04Physics Not Promises™
A cloud vault asks you to trust its software. Offline Secure Storage® is built on four things you can check.
Your files sit on physical drives assigned to you, not a share of someone else's platform.
The route to your data stays closed until you verify and open a session.
Tier 3 data centres in the UK and Europe, with three independent entry checks and 24/7 monitoring.
Access always traces back to someone accountable, never a shared login.
05Choose your OSS
Every instance is physically disconnected by default. Choose by how much you hold and how often you need it.
LUVLow Use Vault£74.99a month inc VAT
When you need less, and only now and then.
Vault2TB, 4TB or 8TB£360a month inc VAT, from
For the named people in your business.
StorageFrom 20TB, for the organisationQuotedin a written proposal
When one person's Vault is not enough.
Enterprise300TB and beyondPricedon application
Enterprise-grade offline secure storage™ for large data estates.
06From a customer
“I had full autonomy over the way the Vault was managed. They facilitated the requests I had and adapted to what our business needed.”
07Questions
Want your board or IT team to see the difference? Book a demo and we will walk them through it.
A physical air gap means there is no network path to the data while it is not in use. A logical air gap keeps the data on connected systems and relies on software, such as separate accounts, encryption and access rules, to keep people out.
No. Encryption protects the contents of your files, but the files stay on internet-connected servers. That is logical isolation, not a physical air gap.
No. An immutable backup stops data being changed, but it usually stays online. Offline Secure Storage® removes the network path while your Vault is closed. Many organisations use both.
Approve from your registered phone and sign in with MFA. The physical route is enabled for a session of up to 120 minutes, every session is logged, and the Vault is physically disconnected again when it ends.
No. Your live data stays connected. Your Vault holds the copy you need if those systems are compromised, alongside the tools you already use.
Disconnect to Protect®
Start with the records your business could not rebuild. Your team keeps working as it does today.
