A Brief History of Cybercrime and Cyberwarfare - The Technical and Social History of Software Engineering - page 426

EMP Protection
Unfortunately, transistors and integrated circuits are susceptible to serious dam-
ages from an EMP. They may be physically damaged and will never operate again.
To date, civilians are largely unaware of the EMP threat, and computer manufac-
turers ignore it.
A relatively simple and inexpensive device called a Faraday box is capable of
shielding small electronic devices such as cell phones, tablets, and notebook com-
puters from EMPs. A Faraday box is a metal container made of steel, copper, alu-
minum, or some other metal that conducts electricity. It can be made from either
sheet metal or screens, but it must be a continuous and fully closed container.
Objects placed inside a Faraday box should be safe from an EMP if the box is
closed. A caveat is that whatever is inside can't touch the metal of the box, so it
would need to be wrapped in plastic or some other nonconductive material. Anoth-
er caveat is that whatever is inside the Faraday box should be turned off. No elec-
tric cords should be exposed or plugged in.
As it happens, computers with magnesium or aluminum cases may have some
EMP protection from the cases themselves. Checking EMP resistance in a lab
would be needed to quantify their effectiveness.
Assuming metal cases do provide EMP resistance, it would be inexpensive to
include some kind of metal mesh, probably aluminum, embedded in the Kevlar
or plastic commonly used for notebook computer cases. Tablets and smartphones
with open screens and no clamshell lids would need separate metal cases or at least
metal screen covers.
Unfortunately for consumers and homeowners, a major EMP attack would
probably leave them without working automobiles if they have embedded com-
puters and without television sets, wireless networks, computers, and “smart” elec-
tric appliances. Old-fashioned appliances without computer chips might survive.
Old automobiles without modern electronics might also survive.
Modern equipment may be destroyed beyond repair. A normal affluent family
could easily lose almost $500,000 in ruined equipment that will never work again.