New Material Promises NSA-proof Wallpaper

logo.jpg

A small company called Conductive Composites out of Utah has developed a flexible material, thin and tough for wallpaper or woven fabric that can keep electronic emissions in, and electromagnetic pulses out.

There are a few ways to snoop on electronic communications. You can hack into a network or you can sniff out radio emissions. If you want to defend against the latter, you can enclose your electronic device or devices within a structure of electrically conductive, (probably metallic) material. The result is something like a force field. The conductive material distributes the electromagnetic energy away from the target in every direction. These enclosures are sometimes called Faraday cages after the 18th-century British scientist who discovered electrolysis.

Today, Faraday cages are all over the place. In 2013, as the College of Cardinals convened to elect a new Pope, the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel was converted into a Faraday cage so that news of the election couldn’t leak out, no matter how hard the paparazzi tried, and how eager the cardinals were to tweet the proceedings. The military also uses Faraday cages for secure communications: Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities or SCIFs are Faraday cages. You’ll need to be in one to access the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communication System, or JWICS, the Defense Department’s top-secret Internet.

Conductive Composites has created a method to layer nickel on carbon to form a material that’s light and moldable like plastic yet can disperse energy like a traditional metal cage.

The material also holds promise for a scalable defense against an electromagnetic pulse weapon. EMPs are a rising concern for the national security community, but not a new one. Soviet research into electromagnetic pulse weapons goes back to 1949, and active experimentation back to the 1970s. EMPs entered the public eye via the 2005 James Bond movie GoldenEye, in which an EMP caused massive blackouts and widespread fried electronics. Two years later, Army Lt. Gen. Robert Schweitzer testified before the House Joint Economic Committee that such weapons might help fulfill Sun Tzu’s dictum to conquer an enemy without fighting. “If you can take out the civilian economic infrastructure of a nation, then that nation, in addition to not being able to function internally, cannot deploy its military by air or sea, or supply them with any real effectiveness,” he said. Translation: EMPs offer all the victory at a fraction of the cost.
In May, the U.S  Air Force confirmed that it was working on an electromagnetic pulse weapon of its own. A Faraday cage can serve as protection against exactly that sort of attack.

But the principal military application of the Conductive Composite material —aside from being able to enclose data centers in suitcases rather than guarded basement warehouses — could be to harden drones against electronic attack, a breakthrough that could pose a problem when the drones aren’t US.

DefenseOne

 

 

 

« Europe Is Spying on You
Cyber London for Europe’s Brightest Cyber Security Start-ups and Entrepreneurs »

Infosecurity Europe
CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

DigitalStakeout

DigitalStakeout

DigitalStakeout enables cyber security professionals to reduce cyber risk to their organization with proactive security solutions, providing immediate improvement in security posture and ROI.

MIRACL

MIRACL

MIRACL provides the world’s only single step Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) which can replace passwords on 100% of mobiles, desktops or even Smart TVs.

North Infosec Testing (North IT)

North Infosec Testing (North IT)

North IT (North Infosec Testing) are an award-winning provider of web, software, and application penetration testing.

CSI Consulting Services

CSI Consulting Services

Get Advice From The Experts: * Training * Penetration Testing * Data Governance * GDPR Compliance. Connecting you to the best in the business.

Authentic8

Authentic8

Authentic8 transforms how organizations secure and control the use of the web with Silo, its patented cloud browser.

Huawei

Huawei

Huawei is a leading global ICT solutions provider. with end-to-end capabilities across the carrier networks, enterprise, consumer, and cloud computing fields.

Synovum

Synovum

Synovum was formed with the intention to provide high quality advice, consultancy, training and project management services to clients in all sectors of industry.

Genie Networks

Genie Networks

Genie Networks is a leading technology company providing networking and security solutions for optimizing the performance of large networks.

Magix Security

Magix Security

Magix Security assesses the cyber threat, gives you visibility of how vulnerable your business is to attack, and provides cybercrime detection and prevention services.

DQM GRC

DQM GRC

DQM GRC are one of the UK's leading providers of data governance, e-privacy and GDPR services, to commercial organisations across all industries in the UK.

Forum of Incident Response & Security Teams (FIRST)

Forum of Incident Response & Security Teams (FIRST)

FIRST is the global Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams.

Infinite Ranges

Infinite Ranges

Infinite Ranges delivers secure, comprehensive digital solutions by connecting experts with the best products and services for the digital age.

Secureframe

Secureframe

Companies from startups to enterprises use Secureframe to automate SOC 2 and ISO 27001 compliance, complete audits, and continuously monitor their security.

Analog Devices Inc (ADI)

Analog Devices Inc (ADI)

Analog Devices is uniquely positioned to deliver security at the edge, where the data is born, because our sensor solutions convert the physical, analog world into the digital world.

Triaxiom Security

Triaxiom Security

Triaxiom Security offers penetration testing, security audits, and strategic consulting customized to meet your needs.

GrayMatter

GrayMatter

GrayMatter provides Advanced Industrial Analytics, OT Cybersecurity, Digital Transformation and Automation & Control services to clients across the U.S. and Canada.

Orpheus Cyber

Orpheus Cyber

Orpheus Cyber provides predictive and actionable intelligence to our clients - enabling them to anticipate, prepare for and respond to the cyber threats they face.

ZoobeTek

ZoobeTek

ZoobeTek are a company focused on preventing leaks related to the security of business information3.

Abissi

Abissi

Abissi offer cyber intelligence, IoT security, automotive security, red teaming, application security and artificial intelligence security services, with a focus on security by design.

Ciena

Ciena

Ciena is a global leader in optical and routing systems, services, and automation software. We build the world’s most adaptive networks to address ever-increasing digital demands.

Terra Security

Terra Security

Terra Security is the first agentic-AI platform built for web application penetration testing.