Suchergebnisse

We report on high power microwave (HPM) susceptibility tests of vulnerable IT network components. The devices under test are five different commercial and industrial media converters, one military media converter and a shielded enclosure for commercial media converters. The report compares results of susceptibility tests in different configurations supplemented by transfer function measurements.

We report on high power microwave (HPM) vulnerability tests within a joint action of two NATO RTO Task Groups. The tests have been conducted on two generations of configurable military network communication systems. The systems based on state-of-the-art Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) components have been adapted to the military environment with boxes, connectors, data cables and power supply hardened in various different ways. The investigation of susceptibility thresholds at Fraunhofer INT was done in its TEM waveguide which allows the generation of field strengths up to some kV/m, depending on measurement location. We find that only the exclusive use of good shielded SFTP cables in combination with state-of-the-art electrical equipment protection allows to avoid system failures due to HPM irradiation.

Intentional electromagnetic interference (IEMI) has risen to a serious threat for operators of critical infrastructures (CI). In this context, the European Union has funded three projects which deal with this problem. Passport control systems on airports are potential targets for such attacks. As part of cooperation between the EU projects HIPOW and FASTPASS, it was possible to start a test campaign for exposing electronic passport readers to high-power electromagnetic (HPEM) signals to find susceptibilities in these systems. The campaign had shown that it is possible to disturb such document readers with signals from powerful generators at various frequencies.