America has become increasingly dependent on electricity. The fragility of electronics and increasing threats worldwide has led to the subject of this paper. How vulnerable is America to Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack? What would most likely happen in such an event? What steps can be taken to prepare for an EMP attack? Research shows that Electromagnetic propagation is the silent threat that is not be focused on. The current power grid of the United States is unequipped to handle a large scale EMP attack. This silent threat would do more damage to America and its people than any other form of attack that modern technology can supply. During the Hearing of the Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies Subcommittee
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This study was a joint effort contracted by FERC staff, the Department of Energy and the Department of Homeland Security and expanded on the information developed in other initiatives, including the EMP commission reports. The Oak Ridge study concluded that the power grid is unable to handle an EMP attack. That is also true of the nuclear reactors, and renewable energy sources that comprise and feed into the power grid. All these systems that forms the power grid would not necessarily be directly affected by an EMP be it a GMD, HEMP or IEMI in another location. However widespread failure of a significant fraction of electrical and electronic systems will cause large-scale cascading failures of critical infrastructure networks because of the interdependency among affected and unaffected systems. Mathematician Paul Erdos’s “small-world” network theory applies, which refers to most nodes–equipment attached to a network– being accessible to all others through just a few connections. The fraction of all nodes changes suddenly when the average number of links per single network connection exceeds one. For example, a single component failure, where the average links per node is two, can affect approximately half of the remaining “untouched” network nodes (G.B., PhD 1). Spent nuclear fuel rods are held …show more content…
One caveat to that is the timing and magnitude of such an event is unknown, and the current power grid is unable to handle an EMP attack. Although the power grid as a whole would not be affected by a single EMP event. When an EMP event occurs the interdependent nature of the power grid, will cause cascading failures throughout the electric power grid, flowing to subsystems. Which in turn will cause the power grid to fail. Since the 1960s there has been little progress in mitigating the threat of EMP and American society has become increasingly dependent on electronic devices increasing the susceptibility to EMP. DOD has implemented and standardized EMP engineering solutions that have been well documented since the 1960s the (G.B., PhD 4). The limiting factor in the civilian sector in regards to hardening the power grid against vulnerabilities to EMP, has been the power and energy industries unwillingness to spend the money to correct current deficiencies. The federal government has put forth bills awaiting passage that would allow governmental entities to further study and plan for the EMP threat. Although the bills would allow for further study of this threat they would not allow for any true threat
This study was a joint effort contracted by FERC staff, the Department of Energy and the Department of Homeland Security and expanded on the information developed in other initiatives, including the EMP commission reports. The Oak Ridge study concluded that the power grid is unable to handle an EMP attack. That is also true of the nuclear reactors, and renewable energy sources that comprise and feed into the power grid. All these systems that forms the power grid would not necessarily be directly affected by an EMP be it a GMD, HEMP or IEMI in another location. However widespread failure of a significant fraction of electrical and electronic systems will cause large-scale cascading failures of critical infrastructure networks because of the interdependency among affected and unaffected systems. Mathematician Paul Erdos’s “small-world” network theory applies, which refers to most nodes–equipment attached to a network– being accessible to all others through just a few connections. The fraction of all nodes changes suddenly when the average number of links per single network connection exceeds one. For example, a single component failure, where the average links per node is two, can affect approximately half of the remaining “untouched” network nodes (G.B., PhD 1). Spent nuclear fuel rods are held …show more content…
One caveat to that is the timing and magnitude of such an event is unknown, and the current power grid is unable to handle an EMP attack. Although the power grid as a whole would not be affected by a single EMP event. When an EMP event occurs the interdependent nature of the power grid, will cause cascading failures throughout the electric power grid, flowing to subsystems. Which in turn will cause the power grid to fail. Since the 1960s there has been little progress in mitigating the threat of EMP and American society has become increasingly dependent on electronic devices increasing the susceptibility to EMP. DOD has implemented and standardized EMP engineering solutions that have been well documented since the 1960s the (G.B., PhD 4). The limiting factor in the civilian sector in regards to hardening the power grid against vulnerabilities to EMP, has been the power and energy industries unwillingness to spend the money to correct current deficiencies. The federal government has put forth bills awaiting passage that would allow governmental entities to further study and plan for the EMP threat. Although the bills would allow for further study of this threat they would not allow for any true threat