How AirGapNet works: a 6-minute primer

AirGapNet is a remote-controlled, patent-pending network switch that physically separates a network line. The control unit sits behind a protected boundary that the production network cannot reach — it is operated over an independent control channel, typically GSM/SMS.

The shorter the time a device is electrically connected to the wider network, the smaller the window in which an attacker can reach it. That single observation drives the design: turn the default from "always online" to "online when needed".

AirGapNet does not replace a firewall. It complements one. Firewalls, EDR, segmentation, and IAM all assume the line exists and gate access on top of it. AirGapNet changes whether the line exists in the first place.

Use AirGapNet on individual service paths that should be reachable only during a defined window: maintenance access to a controller, an update channel to a server, a backup target between backup jobs, or admin reachability to a SWIFT gateway. The firewall keeps doing what it does — AirGapNet removes the path it would otherwise have to defend.

AGN devices physically separate the network line. The control unit cannot be modified from outside, and the switch action runs over a separate control channel. Disconnects can be manual, scheduled, or event-driven.

Air-gapping is a long-standing security technique used to ensure that a sensitive computer network is physically isolated from untrusted networks like the public internet or an unsecured LAN. It is often used as a last line of defense against external threats, especially when sensitive data must remain unreachable from the outside.

Historically, air-gapping has been most visible in three domains:

The classical air gap is a one-way decision: either a network is permanently isolated, or it is not. That works for highly sensitive enclaves but does not scale to the dozens of service paths a typical mid-sized site has — maintenance windows, vendor support, monthly patches, backup jobs.

AirGapNet adapts the same physical principle to a per-line, time-boxed control. The line is the air gap by default; the maintenance window is the planned, audited exception. The result is the security posture of an air gap with the operational practicality of a managed service path.