Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
Viewpoint
Things That Go Bump in the Night
12/14/2007
A second problem faced by a rogue state is getting a bomb 400 kilometers (250) miles over Kansas. That requires a sophisticated missile capability beyond that of all but a few countries (the ones we have already assumed won't launch such an attack). A more likely scenario would be a Scud-class missile launched from an offshore ship or submarine. The Scud-B has a one-ton payload and 300 kilometer (190 mile) range. A burst at an altitude of 62 miles above Virginia Beach would cause an EMP covering a 1,100 kilometer (700 mile) radius at ground level, just about the entire Eastern time zone.
Side Note: Non-nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse
It turns out you don't need an atomic bomb to generate a powerful electromagnetic pulse. Generally these non-nuclear devices have much more limited range and cover relatively small areas and thus don't fit into our description of continental scale disasters. They are, however, being actively developed for both military and civilian applications. The military is experimenting with non-nuclear electromagnetic pulse (NNEMP) generators to disrupt enemy communications and computer systems. On the home front, law enforcement agencies would love to have a way to disable a speeding car. You can even buy NNEMP "kits" to experiment with in the privacy of your own home. A 1.8 Gigawatt kit is available for only $1,500.
Why Aren't People Concerned?
Although there are uncertainties, a number of knowledgeable people are concerned, very concerned, that there is a risk of an EMP attack. According to George W. Ullrich, deputy director, Defense Special Weapons Agency, "While DoD hardens assets it deems vital, no comparable civil program exists. Thus, the detonation of one or a few high-altitude nuclear weapons could result in devastating problems for the entire U.S. commercial infrastructure."
The conclusion of the 2004 Congressional Blue Ribbon EMP Commission was: "The damage level could be sufficient to be catastrophic to the nation, and our current vulnerability invites attack." Unfortunately the report came out on the same day as 9/11 Commission report and received little press coverage.
What Should Higher Ed Be Doing?
In his presentation, St. Sauver urged higher education to begin hardening key campus network support infrastructure and mission-critical systems. The standards for doing this are well defined if little known. See for example Engineering and Design - Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) and Tempest Protection for Facilities, Army Pamphlet EP 1110-3-2 available
Recommended Reading
- Fixed-Mobile Convergence: Dartmouth Beefs Up Cell Coverage, Cuts Costs
Problems with cell phone coverage aren't uncommon on college campuses. There are two main reasons: The beefy structure of historic buildings can block cellular reception within walls, and, on more remote campuses outside cities, signal coverage can be light.
- Thompson Rivers U Deploys Unified Digital Campus for ERP
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in British Columbia has selected SunGard Higher Education's Banner Unified Digital Campus (UDC) to integrate its ERP systems.
- DV Kitchen Web Video Publishing System Released
DVcreators.net has released DV Kitchen, a new video encoding and publishing application for Mac OS X designed specifically for creating materials to be posted on the Web.
- NEC Debuts 4 Education Projectors
NEC this week debuted four new projectors targeted toward education applications, along with a new MultiSync LCD display. The new NP-series projectors are entry-level models started at $899 but are designed to provide high light output, support for closed captioning, and built-in networking capabilities.
- Security Researchers Uncover Spring Framework Vulnerability
Software frameworks are enjoying enormous popularity these days among a range of developers. It's popularity well earned; frameworks provide powerful tools for building more flexible and less error-prone applications. They generally enhance developer productivity with out-of-the-box functionality. And they can free developers to focus on features instead of common coding tasks.
- 3PAR Server Arrays Integrate Fat-to-Thin Processing
Utility storage provider 3PAR has announced the release of the 3PAR InServ T400 and T800 Storage Servers. The new hardware is built on the company's third-generation InSpire architecture, featuring the 3PAR Gen3 ASIC with integrated fat-to-thin processing.
