kzt wrote:It’s virtually impossible to actually air gap systems. And if you do it doesn’t actually help much. You can see this in a few high profile espionage cases where data was removed from the system by the last 3 NSA spies and the whack job in Iraq.
But it’s rediculously expensive to run an air gapped system securely. Everything needs to be dedicated and support is a nightmare. Basically it’s only doable for governments, and even they don’t do it well. See above.
Every real business runs an air gap system on critical data. Some Idiotic stupid businesses do not. Every business I have ever worked at other than one(dawn of the computer age) had such systems. Big and Small.
You had your test data/FEA/3d modeling/finance systems air gapped and then you had your everyday run of the mill computers where idiots have email, health insurance sign up, news, Office programs, etc.
Physical presence required to bridge the air gap means the ability to steal said info drops drastically. Now, HOW you secure the air gap from the ol' HUMINT, that is the problem.
Support is hard? What are you smoking? I see you have never worked in such an environment. You just never update the systems. You set it up, and never touch them. Any problems? You just reghost the standard which only changes when you replace all the computers and software. Oh yea, the computers run forever because all the updates and crap doesn't load up the computers. You also don't have some stupid ignorant pimple faced power hungry network asshole trying to ram down their authoritarian BS on these separate machines as they DO NOT HAVE ACCESS to them! That access falls into the hands of those people who can rub two brain cells together and give access via trust of who has worked for a long time etc.
I have never worked for the ol' government, so, if they tried an air gap, since the ol' government sucks at everything, I am sure they would suck ass at an air gap solution as well.
This won't change in 2000 years.