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>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
The Emerging Threat of Tactical Electromagnetic Interference & its Spread
into Non-Defense Sectors
January 29, 2020 *Paul Currie
<https://interferencetechnology.com/author/paul-currie/>* Aerospace
<https://interferencetechnology.com/category/markets/aerospace/>, Articles
<https://interferencetechnology.com/category/articles/>, Consumer
Electronics
<https://interferencetechnology.com/category/markets/consumer-electronics/>,
Design <https://interferencetechnology.com/category/markets/design/>,
Military <https://interferencetechnology.com/category/markets/military/>,
Shielding
<https://interferencetechnology.com/category/technologies/shielding/>,
Standards <https://interferencetechnology.com/category/standards/>
During the last five years intentional electromagnetic interference (IEMI)
has emerged as a credible and increasingly likely threat to commercial and
defence facilities alike, with a potentially crippling cost to individual
organizations of such a localized attack.
Hollywood has long used electromagnetic interference (EMI) and
electromagnetic pulse (EMP) phenomena as the de facto basis for sensational
blockbuster movies. As far back as 1952, the classic science fiction film *The
Day the Earth Stood Still* featured the widespread effects of such an EMP
event, with cars stopping, lights going out, and radios being silenced.
More recently, *Ocean’s Eleven* saw Don Cheadle’s character activate an EMP
generator, inadvertently blacking out most of Las Vegas.
EMP generator in ‘Ocean’s Eleven’
Similarly, since the 1990s, the electronics community has been discussing
and reporting on the potential large-scale effects from such EMI and EMP
events. Papers and presentations on the effects of a pulse generated by a
high-altitude, nuclear type detonation (HEMP), or from natural phenomena
such as geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) from solar storms, have
become almost commonplace. The Lloyd’s Report entitled “The Solar Storm
Risk to the North American Electric Grid” published in 2013 is just one
example. The impacts of such EMP events have also been widely acknowledged,
with several guidelines and standards being published, such as the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security’s Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Protection
and Restoration Guidelines for Equipment and Facilities, published in 2016.
Following the first Gulf War, several national strategies were developed,
promulgating methods for initiating a “black-out” war by completely turning
off the adversary’s power via cyber, kinetic, or EMP activity. Subsequently
state sponsors of terrorism and terrorist networks such as ISIS have openly
stated that they are exploring these same strategies as a means of
delivering their threat. However, such activity is at a national or
strategic level and, whilst the results of such large-scale EMP effects are
generally recognized, the probability of such events taking place is
considered to be relatively low.
In more recent times, the discussion has progressed to concentrate on more
directed, localized or tactical EMP events and has expanded beyond the
defense arena to include commercial and industrial organizations, public
authorities and their infrastructures.
It is understood that the effects of tactical EMP attacks are likely to be
lesser than strategic EMP ones, but it is equally clear that the threat and
probability of those attacks taking place are far greater. What is also
recognized is that the likelihood of such EMP occurrences being
intentionally generated has also significantly increased. This is commonly
referred to as Intentional Electromagnetic Interference (IEMI).
Such IEMI attacks may be driven by a political motive or financial gain,
but could just as easily be motivated by a desire for peer group
recognition or simply by the challenge of breaching complex computer
systems.
That could be considered similar to computer hacking or high-level
cyber-crime. Nevertheless, whilst the execution of cyber-crime activities
calls for specialist skills and expensive and sophisticated equipment, IEMI
can be unleashed with a minimum of technical knowledge and has a low
cost-of-entry. What is more, the originators of cyber-crime are often
eventually traced back and prosecuted. By contrast, unless a perpetrator
can be caught in the brief act of delivering an IEMI attack, it is
completely untraceable and leaves no evidential trail.
Any search of the Internet will yield a number of YouTube-type
instructional videos, showing how to construct an IEMI device. Following
such instructions requires little or no prior electrical knowledge, few
tools and some common raw materials and components. You can then source
your shopping list of these parts, generally available on the internet, for
no more than a few dollars, euros, or pounds.
Magnetron components on the internet
The method of delivery of any such IEMI attack may differ and can range
from a primitive homemade contrivance, a suitcase-size apparatus, up to
vehicle-mounted, transportable devices. The method used may be determined
by how much the perpetrator is prepared to spend. In carrying out any such
IEMI or localized EMP threat, two factors are of primary importance. These
are the amount of power that can be generated by the chosen device and how
close it is to its target. In general terms, the more power that can be
generated by a device and the nearer it is to the target, the greater the
effects will be.
Suitcase-sized EMP generator
In cases where these two factors are diminished, the resulting effects may
be limited to errors in data or outages with minor disruption to services
or operations, or control room monitors freezing for a short period. But,
given sufficient power and a reasonable proximity to the target, effects
could easily result in entire systems going down and requiring the reset
and reboot of servers. In the worst case scenario, the outcome would be the
destruction of electronic equipment, where no data is recoverable from that
system.
Vehicle-mounted EMP generator
The most widespread, costly and potentially devastating are likely to be
the repercussions of IEMI jamming computer systems inside the critical
assets which run our communications, navigation and broadcasting systems,
public utilities, transportation, hospitals, data centers, banks, financial
institutions, and commodity and stock exchanges. In this context there is a
wealth of publicly available information relating to the U.S. power grid
network and other vulnerable sectors of their national economy.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory, the annual cost of short interruptions (lasting five minutes or
less) to the American economy had risen from $52 billion in 2002 to $60
billion in 2014. Estimates from other publicly available information are
that up to 25% of power disruptions have an undefined cause. It is now
widely understood and accepted that a percentage of these undefined causes
are the result of unintentional or intentional EMI or EMP activity.
Disturbingly, at an organizational level, S&C Electric’s (S&C) 2018 State
of Commercial & Industrial Power Reliability report found that 18% of
companies surveyed had experienced a loss of more than $100,000 as a result
of their worst outage, whilst half of customers surveyed had endured
outages lasting more than one hour during the past year. The same survey
revealed that 25% of companies reported experiencing at least one outage
per month. Again, the view is widely held that a percentage of such system
downtime is as a result of EMI or EMP activity.
Calculations show that, on average, organizations lose between $84,000 and
$108,000 for every hour of IT system downtime, and a 2016 study by the
Ponemon Institute for IT and data protection based in Michigan estimated
that the cost of a data center outage in the U.S.A. had grown to $8,851 per
minute.
Digital LCD TV Distortion
Until 2010 consideration of protection against such EMI and EMP events was
almost exclusively limited to military installations and defense-focused
organizations around the world. In the main this was due to the only
available testing compliance Standards being the very onerous U.S.
Mil-Std-188-125 and the U.K.’s Def Stan 59-188. The cost to implement
protection compliant with these Standards could be prohibitive.
More recently, the publication, for example, of the previously referenced
Lloyds Report of 2013 along with the new IEC Standards for IEMI immunity
test methods for equipment and systems (IEC 61000-4-36) and Radiated &
Conducted HEMP protection (IEC 61000-4-23 & 24) published in 2015 has led
to an increase in non-defense-related organizations considering, investing
in and implementing protection against IEMI.
For instance, one of Scandinavia’s largest power grid company owners has
been implementing EMP protection for a number of years to add resilience to
its network. In the USA, a major communications provider nationwide is now
exploring in detail how they may best implement protection of their
facilities, to ensure the continuity of the services they provide in the
case of any localized EMI or EMP event.
This spread of EMI and EMP protection into commercial, public and utility
sectors is only set to increase further, with a raft of new legislation and
standards updates *either already introduced during 2018 or in consultation
for introduction in the very near future.
The Network and Information Security (NIS) EU Law was published in May
2018. This EU Law requires any company providing essential services—such as
in banking and finance, public sector, IT, healthcare, and transport—to
report henceforth all cyber security incidents caused by EMI, EMP, or other
threats and the extent of any resultant damage and disruption.
In the U.S.A. Mil-Std-188-125 is due to be updated, whilst in the U.K. Def
Stan 59-188 is also rumored to be being updated. Moreover the IEC is due to
release further guidance regarding HEMP and IEMI (IEC 61000-5-10) during
2019. The Critical Infrastructure Protection Act (CIPA) in the U.S.A. has
been with Congress since 2016 and is expected to be passed into legislation
by 2020. This Act will make public utility organizations responsible for
protecting their own systems and services against the effects of EMI and
EMP events, or risk significant punitive fines, should those systems and
services be affected as a direct result.
This shifting of responsibility to both private and public sector service
providers for maintaining and protecting their services in the face of any
tactical IEMI attack is a significant development. In addition to the
potentially crippling physical, financial and reputational damage that they
may cause, the repercussions of IEMI strikes could now be punishable in
law, and consequently protective solutions to combat the threat have never
been in greater demand.
Someone has taken notice.......
Please do not quiz me about the 'suite case EMP generator'. I can not
confirm or deny its existence of capabilities.
--
*Dave - WØLEV*
*Just Let Darwin Work*
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