EMP Pulses and Bitcoin Exchanges

[jimbobway]

Seems like people are spreading some FUD on bitcoin and EMP pulses in some comments I read.  How does MtGox or other services defend against this?  Paper wallet?  Faraday Cage?  Can anyone from Mt. Gox comment on this?

[mb300sd]

Seems like people are spreading some FUD on bitcoin and EMP pulses in some comments I read.  How does MtGox or other services defend against this?  Paper wallet?  Faraday Cage?  Can anyone from Mt. Gox comment on this?

EMP should not destroy data within hard drives, their electronics yes, but a data recovery company can read the magnetic media directly with special tools.

[stevegee58]

If an EMP attack plays out as feared, bitcoin would be the least of your worries.

Imagine the power being out for years, maybe decades.

[beekeeper]

If an EMP attack plays out as feared, bitcoin would be the least of your worries.

Imagine the power being out for years, maybe decades.

As someone suggested, after difficulty will fall to 1, we will use pen and paper to continue blocks checking and mine coins.

[jimbobway]

If an EMP attack plays out as feared, bitcoin would be the least of your worries.

Imagine the power being out for years, maybe decades.

Well, the EMP attack could be in Japan and my money over there would be my worry.  (Sounds a bit selfish, but I think it's true.)

[AndrewBUD]

Yeah, I think we would have more to worry about if EMP's were going off.......

[stevegee58]

If an EMP attack plays out as feared, bitcoin would be the least of your worries.

Imagine the power being out for years, maybe decades.

Well, the EMP attack could be in Japan and my money over there would be my worry.  (Sounds a bit selfish, but I think it's true.)

The US and Europe are much more likely targets than Japan.

[Dabs]

How thick of a wall do you need to prevent or mitigate an EMP of a certain power? I'd think having your computers in a building with walls and wires etc would be enough? How are stock exchanges protected? Those have hundreds of computers right? (How are banks protected?)

[AndrewBUD]

I doubt any of them are protected from such things.

[stevegee58]

How thick of a wall do you need to prevent or mitigate an EMP of a certain power? I'd think having your computers in a building with walls and wires etc would be enough? How are stock exchanges protected? Those have hundreds of computers right? (How are banks protected?)

They're not protected.  Thick walls don't matter.

You're in survivalist territory at this point.  Check out survivalistboards.com for more detailed information.

[dirtycat]

How thick of a wall do you need to prevent or mitigate an EMP of a certain power? I'd think having your computers in a building with walls and wires etc would be enough? How are stock exchanges protected? Those have hundreds of computers right? (How are banks protected?)

They're not protected.  Thick walls don't matter.

You're in survivalist territory at this point.  Check out survivalistboards.com for more detailed information.

guns, ammo, water, fuel, food, medicines..... BEER!

[dust]

Regular, encrypted offsite backups would protect against localized EMP strikes.

[jojo69]

EMP danger is overblown anyway

[Dabs]

Seriously, you can shield against EMPs right? Thick walls, or really really thick walls? With rebars and faraday cages built in? Or do I need to be buried under a mountain?

It seems that almost all civilian structures, and even most military structures are not adequately protect against EMP anymore, unlike during the cold war. (And this, for Nuclear based EMP, not the non-nuclear based EMP which is a million times weaker.)

[Enigma81]

Seriously, you can shield against EMPs right? Thick walls, or really really thick walls? With rebars and faraday cages built in? Or do I need to be buried under a mountain?

It seems that almost all civilian structures, and even most military structures are not adequately protect against EMP anymore, unlike during the cold war. (And this, for Nuclear based EMP, not the non-nuclear based EMP which is a million times weaker.)

EMP's can be protected against, yes.  The thickness of the wall is not at all important - 6 feet of concrete wouldn't stop an EMP even a little - it's ELECTRO-MAGNETIC, hence, it goes through concrete like it's not even there.  A faraday cage will protect against an EMP, but if the equipment is plugged into to copper wires that exit from the cage, they will transmit the pulse into the cage.  Because of this, Protecting equipment that is running is not trivial.  Protecting equipment that is not running is easy - put it in a metal box.  That's it...

Enigma

[Dabs]

Ok. So wrap your room or building with expanded metal or overlapping layers of aluminum foil, then stick it in plastic or glass, then stick that inside concrete so the metal shielding is protected against physical damage.

For communications (internet access) use optical or fiber optics, at least until the EMP strikes. Then your room will get disconnected but is safe. Suddenly, you are in cold storage.

For electricity, get transformers or surge protectors installed if you must use power from the grid. If you can afford it, use your own power (from generators, windmills, solar, etc.) that are also shielded.

[Enigma81]

Ok. So wrap your room or building with expanded metal or overlapping layers of aluminum foil, then stick it in plastic or glass, then stick that inside concrete so the metal shielding is protected against physical damage.

For communications (internet access) use optical or fiber optics, at least until the EMP strikes. Then your room will get disconnected but is safe. Suddenly, you are in cold storage.

For electricity, get transformers or surge protectors installed if you must use power from the grid. If you can afford it, use your own power (from generators, windmills, solar, etc.) that are also shielded.

Electricity is your problem..  A transformer will not provide protection.  A surge protector isn't even in the ballpark of being fast enough to respond to an EMP.  A true double-conversion online UPS 'may' provide protection against a Nuclear EMP (can't say for certain because there is no test data to back that up).

You have to realize also that the electro-magnetic voltages are just HUGE compared to what normal off the shelf protection devices are designed for.  If you were physically close to the epicenter of a Nuclear EMP, voltages of 20,000 to 50,000 volts PER METER could easily be introduced into electric circuits..  What this means is that even the short (call it a foot or two?) wire that goes from the "protected" online UPS into your cage is enough antenna to radiate 7,000 to 33,000 volts into your protected cage.

I guess what I'm saying, unfortunately, is that sensitive integrated circuits (like computers) are highly unlikely to survive an EMP if they are operating at the time of the EMP.  Can they be protected - absolutely, but to do so is hugely expensive (governments can afford it, not much else).  Best bet is to keep a laptop inside a good faraday cage and save it for that rainy day.  Solar panels not shielded would likely be destroyed, so best would be to put a few of them inside your protected cage as well.  After an EMP event, you could pull our your laptop and solar panel and be functional.  Now, you'll likely have nothing to connect to, "the internet" as we know it will simply be gone.. but you'll have a functional computer.

enigma

[RicePicker]

I think if an EMP was used and I highly doubt it would be against bitcoin exchanges, we would be worrying about some other shit going down.

[FLHippy]

How thick of a wall do you need to prevent or mitigate an EMP of a certain power? I'd think having your computers in a building with walls and wires etc would be enough? How are stock exchanges protected? Those have hundreds of computers right? (How are banks protected?)

not thick at all... you just need a couple layers of tinfoil. Wrap a laptop in paper, next wrap it in tinfoil, wrap it in paper next, wrap it in tinfoil next. That should be enough but if you're super fearful and want to be sure you have a computer after the EMP.... add two more layers

[beekeeper]

I doubt a regular faraday cage will help. Depending how close you are from the EMP source and what sort of source it has, you will need thick metal shield or multiple metal shields. In theory everything protects, depends of the distance and the thickness of protective layer (and material).