THE E-BOMB: THE NEW THREAT

What is an E-Bomb?

The E-bomb(Electromagnetic bomb) is a very short (hundreds of nanoseconds) but intense electromagnetic pulse (EMP), strongest at its source and weakening with distance. EMP is effectively an electromagnetic shock wave. It produces a powerful electromagnetic field that produce short lived transient voltages of thousands of Volts (kiloVolts) on exposed electrical conductors, such as wires, or conductive tracks on printed circuit boards, where exposed. Depending on the electromagnetic "hardness" of the equipment, equipment hit by EMP can be severely damaged or destroyed – silently, discreetly and at low risk. This applies to electrical and electronic equipment, particularly computers and communication devices and radio or radar receivers. Security systems, building management systems and premises surveillance equipment could all be affected. The damage caused by EMP can look almost like the results of a lightning strike. Commercial computer equipment is particularly vulnerable to EMP because key components include high density Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) devices, which are very sensitive to exposure to high voltage transients. Very little energy is required to permanently wound or destroy the MOS devices, any voltage in typically in excess of tens of Volts can produce an effect termed gate breakdown which effectively destroys the device. Even if the pulse is not powerful enough to produce thermal damage, the power supply in the equipment will readily supply enough energy to complete the destructive process. Wounded devices may still function, but their reliability will be seriously impaired. Shielding electronics by equipment chassis provides only limited protection, as any cables running in and out of the equipment will behave very much like antennae, in effect guiding the high voltage transients into the equipment. Computers used in IT systems, communications systems, displays, industrial control applications, including road and rail signalling, and those embedded in military equipment, including signal processors, electronic flight controls and digital engine control systems, are all potentially vulnerable to EMP. EMP may also destroy other electronic devices and electrical equipment. Telecommunications equipment can be highly vulnerable, because copper cables between devices act as conductors. Receivers of all types are particularly sensitive to EMP, as the highly sensitive miniature high frequency transistors and diodes in such equipment are easily destroyed by exposure to high voltage electrical transients. Therefore radar and electronic warfare equipment, satellite, microwave, UHF, VHF, HF and low band communications equipment and television equipment are all potentially vulnerable to the EMP effect. High Power Electromagnetic Pulse generation techniques and High Power Microwave technology have matured to the point where practical E-bombs are becoming technically feasible, with new applications in warfare: but, more to the point, the technology is simple enough to be applied by almost any competent physicist intent on wreaking damage. The components for an E-bomb are readily available.E-bombs could be the new terrorism, a source of extortion, or of commercial warfare. Indeed, there is a serious possibility that attacks have started already, but because the weapon leaves no clues it is difficult to prove this.

History

The ElectroMagnetic Pulse (EMP) effect was first observed during the early testing of high altitude airburst nuclear weapons - a rather radical way of creating an E-bomb The threat of the E-bomb increased in 1994 when Gen. Loborev, Director of the Central Institute of Physics and Technology in Moscow, distributed a landmark paper at the EUROEM Conference in Bordeaux, France. In this paper Dr. A. B. Prishchepenko, the Russian inventor of a family of compact explosive driven RF munitions, described how RF munitions might be used against a variety of targets including communications systems. The concepts "went public" in articles in Russian naval journals and in other professional journals and magazines. On June 17, 1997, the US Joint Economic Committee (JEC) held a hearing called Economic Espionage, Technology Transfers and National Security, in which it heard about a new class of weapons, radio frequency weapons (RF), and the impact of these new weapons on the civilian and military electronic infrastructure of the United States. This was followed up by a further hearing in February 25, 1998. In June 2000, James O’Bryon, deputy director of Live Fire Test & Evaluation at the US Department of Defense flew to a conference in Scotland to address the issue. "What we’re trying to do is look at what people might use if they wanted to do something damaging," he said. The UK magazine, New Scientist published a popularist article on the subject on 1 July 2000.

The Technology

The technology base which may be applied to the design of electromagnetic bombs is both diverse, and in many areas quite mature. Key technologies include explosively pumped Flux Compression Generators (FCG), explosive or propellant driven Magneto-Hydrodynamic (MHD) generators and a range of High Power Microwave (HPM )devices, the leading runner in this area being Virtual Cathode Oscillator or Vircator. A wide range of experimental designs have been tested in these technology areas, and a considerable volume of work has been published in unclassified literature. A HPM device overcomes technical and size problems of the FCG and MHD technologies. Its output power may be tightly focussed and it has a much better ability to couple energy into many target types. The Vircator is a one shot HPM device capable of producing a very powerful single pulse of radiation, yet it is mechanically simple, small and robust, and can operate over a relatively broad band of microwave frequencies. Hidden targets can be detected using Unintentional Emission (UE) [ Readers may be familiar with UE in the context of TEMPEST surveillance, where transient emanations leaking out from equipment due poor shielding can be detected and in many instances demodulated to recover useful intelligence. (At the height of interest in TEMPEST a few years ago, demodulator equipment in an unmarked van in the City of London was able to "read" screens in a dealing room, and to view sensitive legal and personal information). These emissions can only be suppressed by rigorous shielding and emission control techniques, such as are employed in TEMPEST rated equipment. The relative simplicity of the FCG and the Vircator suggests that any person with even a 1940s technology base, once in possession of engineering drawings and specifications, could make an E-bomb.As an example, a FCG can be made with basic electrical materials, common plastic explosives such as C-4 or Semtex, and readily available machine tools such as lathes and suitable mandrels for forming coils. A two stage FCG could be built for as little as US$1,000-2,000. Ivor Smith, an electrical engineer at Loughborough University who has worked on these devices for years, told New Scientist "You can build flux compressors smaller than a briefcase." While destruction of equipment will be obvious, wounding it may not be: it could simply lad to a series of intermittent, inexplicable and apparently random failures and data loss.Defence Against E-Bombs The most effective defence is the destruction of the E-bomb: but detection is the problem. The alternative is to harden systems The most effective method is to wholly contain the equipment in an electrically conductive enclosure, termed a Faraday cage, which prevents the electromagnetic field from gaining access to the protected equipment. But most such equipment must communicate with and be fed with power from the outside world, and this can provide entry points for the E-bomb. Fibre optic cable may solve the problem for communications cabling but electrical power feeds remain an ongoing vulnerability. Moreover, the current trend is to exploit existing distribution media such as cable TV and telephone wiring to provide multiple Megabit/s data distribution (eg cable modems, ADSL/HDSL/VDSL) to premises. Also, the gradual replacement of coaxial Ethernet networking with 10-Base-T twisted pair equipment has further increased the vulnerability of wiring systems inside buildingsWhere an electrically conductive channel must enter the enclosure, electromagnetic arresting devices must be fitted. A range of devices exist, however care must be taken in determining their parameters to ensure that they can deal with the rise time and strength of electrical transients produced by electromagnetic devices.Hardening of systems must be carried out at a system level, as electromagnetic damage to any single element of a complex system could inhibit the function of the whole system. Hardening new build equipment and systems will add a substantial cost burden. Older equipment and systems may be impossible to harden properly and may require complete replacement. In simple terms, hardening by design is significantly easier than attempting to harden existing equipment.For best protection, the answer is resilience and redundancy, spread over a wide geographic area. Communications networks for voice, data and services should employ topologies with sufficient redundancy and failover mechanisms to allow operation with multiple nodes and links inoperative. According to New Scientist, Criminals may have already used microwave weapons. The magazine quotes Bob Gardner, who chairs the Electromagnetic Noise and Interference Commission of the International Union of Radio Science in Ghent, Belgium. Reports from Russia suggest that these devices have been used to disable bank security systems and to disrupt police communications. Another report suggests a London bank may also have been attacked. While these incidents are hard to prove, they’re perfectly plausible. "If you’re asking whether it’s technologically reasonable that someone could do something like this," says Gardner, "then the answer is yes."Take it seriously, and be alert for the symptoms. If it has not happened already, an E-bomb may be coming to a place near you.

References

The E-Bomb - A Weapon of Electrical Mass Destruction Carlo Kopp
Department of Computer Science
Monash University
Clayton, 3168, Australia
carlo@cs.monash.edu.au
http://www.cs.monash.edu.au/~carlo/US Joint Economic Committee Hearing Radio Frequency Weapons and Proliferation: Potential Impact on the Economy Wednesday, February 25, 1998 (Texas Engineering Solutions)Both these documents have extensive bibliographies

New Scientist, 1 July 2000 also provides the following sources:
http://www.infowar.comlmil_c4i/mil_c4i8.html-ssiwww.daIIas.net/~-pevIer/Iec.htm
http://www.nawcwpns.navy.mil/-~pacrange/news/RFWeap.htm&Oacute

and credit to: Andrew Hiles, Founder and former Chairman, Survive, the international Enterprise Risk Management and Business Continuity Groupand Director, Kingswell, consultants in enterprise risk management and business continuity. Andrew can be contacted through info@kingswell.net