Firevault Is Not
Apple FileVault
The names sound similar but the products are fundamentally different. Firevault is an offline secure storage platform built in the United Kingdom. Apple FileVault is disk encryption software for macOS.
One physically disconnects your data from all networks using a Layer 1 physical air gap. The other encrypts a single hard drive that remains connected to the internet.
Firevault vs FileVault at a Glance
Two products. Two companies. Two completely different approaches to protecting data.
Firevault
Offline Secure Storage Platform, UK
- Physically disconnects data from all networks
- Layer 1 physical air gap, not software based
- Stored in CNI-grade Firevault Bunkers
- Identity-locked multi-factor vault access
- Immune to ransomware and remote attacks
- RAID 1 resilience with Vault Buddy succession
- Enterprise and individual, platform agnostic
- Built by Firevault Limited, United Kingdom
Apple FileVault
macOS Disk Encryption, USA
- Encrypts a single Mac hard drive
- Software-based AES-XTS encryption
- Data remains on your connected laptop
- Protected by macOS login password
- Vulnerable to ransomware encrypting over it
- No succession or resilience features
- macOS only, not available on other platforms
- Built by Apple Inc., United States
What Is Firevault?
Firevault is an offline secure storage platform designed and built in the United Kingdom by Firevault Limited. It provides physically disconnected storage for individuals and organisations who need to protect their most sensitive and irreplaceable data from cyber attacks, ransomware, data breaches, insider threats, and human error.
Unlike cloud storage, backup solutions, or encryption software, Firevault uses a Layer 1 physical air gap to completely disconnect your data from all networks. There is no internet connection, no intranet connection, and no wireless connection. The physical cable is disconnected at the hardware level until you authorise access through multi-factor identity verification.
Data is stored in dedicated Firevault Bunkers, CNI-grade secure facilities with 24/7 physical security, climate control, fire suppression, and redundant power. Each vault uses RAID 1 mirrored drives for hardware resilience and includes Vault Buddy succession planning to ensure continuity beyond your lifetime.
Firevault offers three products: the Vault (a digital safe deposit box for individuals), Storage (scalable offline capacity for businesses), and Control (enterprise-grade data path governance). All three are built on the same physically disconnected architecture.
How Firevault Protects Your Data
Six architectural pillars that make Firevault fundamentally different from any encryption software, cloud service, or backup solution.
Layer 1 Physical Air Gap
Your data is physically disconnected from all networks at the cable level. No software, no VPN, no firewall: the connection does not exist until you authorise it.
Firevault Bunkers
Data is stored in CNI-grade secure facilities with 24/7 physical security, climate control, and redundant power. Not on a laptop, not in a data centre rack.
Identity-Locked Access
Multi-factor identity verification ensures only you can authorise connection to your vault. No shared passwords, no admin overrides, no third-party access.
Governed Access Windows
Connectivity windows add governance by design. Access happens on your schedule, preventing impulsive or unauthorised retrieval. Security through architecture, not policy.
RAID 1 Resilience
Every vault uses mirrored drives for hardware resilience. If a drive fails, your data survives. Combined with Vault Buddy succession for continuity beyond your lifetime.
Three Products, One Platform
Choose from the Vault (digital safe deposit box), Storage (scalable offline capacity), or Platform (enterprise offline infrastructure). All physically disconnected.
What Is Apple FileVault?
Apple FileVault is a full-disk encryption feature built into macOS. It uses AES-XTS encryption to protect the contents of your Mac's startup disk. When enabled, FileVault encrypts all data on the drive and requires your login password (or a recovery key) to unlock the disk at startup.
FileVault is enabled through macOS System Settings and is available on all modern Mac computers. It is a device-level security feature: it protects data on one specific machine. If you have multiple devices, each must be encrypted separately. FileVault does not provide network isolation, remote access control, or physical security for your data.
FileVault is good security hygiene. Apple recommends enabling it on all Mac computers. However, it is important to understand what FileVault does and does not do: it encrypts your disk, but your Mac remains connected to the internet. Ransomware, phishing attacks, and credential theft can still compromise your data while the machine is running. FileVault protects against physical theft of a powered-off device, not against cyber attacks on a running, connected machine.
Firevault vs Apple FileVault: Feature by Feature
A detailed side-by-side comparison across every dimension that matters for data protection.
Encryption Protects Data. Disconnection Makes It Unreachable.
The Limitation of Encryption
Apple FileVault encrypts your hard drive. That is good practice and every Mac user should enable it. But encrypted data on a connected device can still be attacked: ransomware can encrypt over it, credentials can be stolen, the operating system can be compromised, and the device itself can be lost or seized. Encryption protects data at rest, but your Mac is rarely truly at rest.
The Firevault Principle
You cannot breach what is not connected. Firevault removes the attack surface entirely by physically disconnecting your data from all networks. There is no path for attackers to exploit because the connection does not exist until you authorise it. This is not a software policy or a firewall rule. It is physics. The cable is physically unplugged at Layer 1.
What People Store in Firevault
Firevault is designed for the data that matters most: the files you cannot afford to lose, leak, or have held to ransom.
Contracts and Legal Documents
Protect signed agreements, NDAs, and litigation evidence in a vault that cannot be remotely accessed, deleted, or tampered with.
Intellectual Property
Source code, patents, trade secrets, and R&D files stored beyond the reach of cyber attacks and insider threats.
Financial Records
Board minutes, audit trails, tax records, and financial models secured in compliance with GDPR, FCA, and DORA requirements.
Personal and Family Assets
Wills, deeds, passports, medical records, and irreplaceable photographs protected for generations with Vault Buddy succession.
Regulatory Evidence
Compliance documentation, incident reports, and audit records maintained in tamper-proof offline storage for regulatory inspections.
Crown Jewel Data
The 2% of data that would cause catastrophic damage if breached. Customer databases, pricing models, strategic plans, and M&A documents.
Use Both. They Serve Different Purposes.
Apple FileVault and Firevault are complementary, not competing products. A robust data protection strategy uses multiple layers of defence, and these two products operate at entirely different layers.
Layer 1: Device encryption (Apple FileVault). Encrypt every Mac in your organisation. This protects against physical theft of powered-off devices. It is baseline security hygiene and should be enabled by default.
Layer 2: Network security. Firewalls, VPNs, endpoint detection, and access management protect devices while they are connected and operating. This is where most security investment is focused today.
Layer 3: Physical disconnection (Firevault). For your most sensitive and irreplaceable data, remove the attack surface entirely. Firevault provides the final layer that encryption and network security cannot: physical unreachability. Your crown jewel assets exist beyond the reach of any cyber attack because the connection to them does not exist.
Firevault vs FileVault: Frequently Asked Questions
Is Firevault the same as Apple FileVault?
No. Firevault and Apple FileVault are completely different products from different companies in different countries. Firevault is a UK-based offline secure storage platform built by Firevault Limited. It physically disconnects your data from all networks using a Layer 1 physical air gap. Apple FileVault is a disk encryption feature built into macOS that encrypts your Mac's hard drive using AES-XTS. They are in entirely different product categories.
Does Firevault replace Apple FileVault?
They serve different purposes and are used together as part of a defence-in-depth strategy. Apple FileVault encrypts a single device's hard drive. Firevault provides a physically disconnected, identity-locked vault for your most sensitive and irreplaceable assets. Use FileVault on your Mac as standard practice. Use Firevault for the data that matters most.
Why do search engines confuse Firevault with FileVault?
The names are phonetically similar, but the products are fundamentally different. Firevault (one word, with a capital V) is an offline secure storage platform. FileVault (two words) is Apple's disk encryption for macOS. Firevault protects data through physical disconnection. FileVault protects data through software encryption. They operate in completely different categories.
Can Apple FileVault protect against ransomware?
Apple FileVault encrypts your disk at rest but does not prevent ransomware. If malware executes on your Mac, it can encrypt your files on top of FileVault's existing encryption, rendering them inaccessible. Firevault takes a different approach: by physically disconnecting your data from all networks, ransomware simply cannot reach it. You cannot breach what is not connected.
Which should I use: Firevault or Apple FileVault?
Both, for different layers of protection. Use Apple FileVault to encrypt your Mac's hard drive, as it is good security hygiene. Use Firevault to protect your most valuable and irreplaceable data: contracts, intellectual property, evidence, crown jewel assets, and files that would cause catastrophic damage if breached. Firevault adds the physical disconnection layer that encryption alone cannot provide.
What is Firevault?
Firevault is an offline secure storage platform built in the United Kingdom. It physically disconnects your data from all networks using a Layer 1 physical air gap, stores it in CNI-grade Firevault Bunkers, and locks access behind multi-factor identity verification. Firevault offers three products: the Vault (a digital safe deposit box for individuals), Storage (scalable offline capacity for businesses), and the Platform (enterprise-grade offline infrastructure).
What is Apple FileVault?
Apple FileVault is a full-disk encryption feature built into macOS. It uses AES-XTS encryption to protect the contents of your Mac's startup disk. FileVault is enabled through System Settings and is protected by your macOS login password. It is a device-level encryption tool, not a storage platform or data vault.
How does Firevault protect against data breaches?
Firevault prevents data breaches by removing the attack surface entirely. Your data is stored on dedicated hardware that is physically disconnected from all networks: no internet, no intranet, no Wi-Fi. There is no digital path for attackers to exploit. Access only occurs during authorised connectivity windows that you control. This is pre-breach prevention through physics, not promises.
Is Firevault available outside the UK?
Firevault is a UK-headquartered company with Firevault Bunkers in carefully selected colocation facilities across multiple locations. See /bunkers for the current footprint. The platform serves organisations and individuals globally, with clear jurisdictional boundaries supporting GDPR, NIS2, and domestic regulatory compliance.
How much does Firevault cost?
Firevault offers plans starting from £74.99 per month for the Low Use Vault (300GB). Storage and Platform products are priced based on capacity and requirements. Visit the Firevault website to explore pricing and create your vault.
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