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HERF, Tempest and EMP
M ili Tin
OSAll Contributor
I keep remembering the completely unrealistic movie Enemy of the State with Will Smith. Why was the other good guy (ex-NSA employee folk) living in an old explosive-rigged warehouse with copper mesh all over the place? And why were all his computers in a cage of copper and tin foil?
The answer is relatively simple on the face, or rather the answers are: HERF, Tempest and EMP. What are HERF, Tempest and EMP, you ask? The simple answer is that they all have to do with electromagnetic properties and radio frequencies to some extent. The more complex answer is that there is no real answer.
Back in the late fourties the US Military and Department of Energy noticed that when a nuclear weapon was detonated in an air burst it disabled all electronic devices around it. The effect was caused by electromagnetic radiation released by the air burst -- called electromagnetic pulse or EMP. Both Russia and America realized the advantages of such a weapon and began developing air-burst capability for the destruction of military and civilian electronics in the event of war. Imagine the ability to stop vehicles and communications devices in their tracks (most vehicles use some form of electronics)!
Itīs theorized that once the US Military (and the Russians) discovered the potential of EMP that they began experimenting with EMP guns which could be towed by trucks or even -- eventually -- held in a soldierīs hand. These weapons were called HERF or high energy radio frequency because they used radio frequencies instead of nuclear blasts to create EMP waves. Itīs believed that the US began development of these systems in the fifties and have continued to this day.
Since HERF guns started to filter into the public as rumors people have begun to experience with their construction. Infowar and some people affiliated with the DoC claim to have built or be building them, and Owl Services (parent company of OSAll) has a malfunctioning model. For more info on HERF guns, check out the links at the bottom of this article.
TEMPEST is actually a nifty little name coined by the military for Van Eck Phreaking. Van Eck Phreaking is the process of using electromagnetic emissions released by a computerīs CRT (cathode ray tube) to read whatīs displayed on the monitor from some distance. Itīs theorized although not proven that agencies such as NSA and CIA have Van Ecking devices and itīs not known what their range truly is. Most of the people who claim to know about TEMPEST are really snake-oil salesmen (such as Codex Data Systems).
Back to the copper mesh. A finely woven copper mesh will stop all but the most determined HERF and TEMPEST devices from penetration. The use of copper mesh in building construction (or in a computer cage of sorts) prevents Van Eck Phreaking by preventing the electromagnetic radiation from being released. Further, it helps dampen the EMP produced by HERF guns (thereīs no point to trying to reduce EMP released by air bursts in a civilian structure).
Owl Servicesī current headquarters (Enderīs bedroom) actually has finely woven copper mesh around the more important servers as a kind of novelty item. We donīt expect to be attacked by HERF guns or Van Eck devices, but itīs kinda cool to look around at the mesh.
Related Links:
DMOZ.org HERF / TEMPEST / ETC. Directory
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