Worry of the day - EMP threat to modern data storage

[BrilloPad]

Can I have one?

What about a tin-foil hat? boom boom.

IGMC

[Bob Dalek]

Will my tinfoil hat protect me?

Can I have one?

[BrilloPad]

http://www.dhbolton.com/articles/diy-emp-generator.html

http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/narro...r_20for_20cars

"Coming Soon- Black Hole generator"


Does he work for CERN now?

[Diver]

http://www.dhbolton.com/articles/diy-emp-generator.html

http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/narro...r_20for_20cars

[Old Greg]

Will my tinfoil hat protect me?

[PAH]

Isn't there also a real threat from the sun if a particularly big solar flare (or whatever activity it is that affects/creates magnetic fields from space) hits us?

Just worried about my terrabytes of porn, the rest of the data I won't miss a bit, except maybe my MP3 collection, but they're mostly backed up on good ole fashion CDs.

[Turion]

The threat from EMP is another of those hyped up doomsday scenarios. Most stuff would not be affected.

Bit like the Millienium Bug, which, by and large, was dreamt up by consultants in order to make a fast buck. Same goes for the doomsday climate change predictions.

[OwlHoot]

Where would they target this EMP? Most of the corporates I've worked for have distributed server networks and off site DR plans with data replication. For that matter how would they generate a sizable EMP without using a nuclear device?

It's very easy to build Faraday cages for server racks or even comms rooms so I don't see EMP as a dramatic threat even if the technology to produce an EMP existed on a practical scale.

You may be able to shield equipment "locally", and apparently short cable lengths (in vehicles and pacemakers for example) aren't as vulnerable as some make out; but a high-altitude nuclear blast would permanently knock out every power line and copper phone cable in the country.

Knowing how long it takes to repair even trivial things in the UK (like about six months to fix a hundred yards of gas main in Cromwell Road which a team of Victorian workmen with picks and shovels could have done in a week ), we'd probably be back in the 18th century for two or three years.

If the UK Government had any sense, with Iran rapidly acquiring nuclear capability, they'd embark on a crash program to replace all copper comms cables with fibre optics. (As things stand, all Iran need do is lob a megaton bomb 50 miles up and they'd knacker every conducting cable within a tangent cone for hundreds of miles around on the ground.)

[HairyArsedBloke]

Bond will sort it out.

[TykeMerc]

Where would they target this EMP? Most of the corporates I've worked for have distributed server networks and off site DR plans with data replication. For that matter how would they generate a sizable EMP without using a nuclear device?

It's very easy to build Faraday cages for server racks or even comms rooms so I don't see EMP as a dramatic threat even if the technology to produce an EMP existed on a practical scale.

[PAH]

If the terrorists really do want to destroy the "western world", all they need is a big enough magnetic pulse to wipe all our systems. Practically everything is stored on magnetic media one way or another.

Is there an emerging technology that would provide a real alternative instead of having to burn loads of optical media or print it all out on paper!?

The chaos in the finance market shows how vulnerable it is to put all your eggs in one basket. Aren't we doing the same with our data?