Government "complacent" over space weather threat
By Stewart Mitchell
Posted on 22 Feb 2012 at 08:41
A defence committee has warned the Government it is being “complacent” over space weather and its threat to electronics devices.
In a Defence Committee report - Developing Threats: Electro-Magnetic Pulses (EMP) – officials were warned that the UK was ill-prepared to deal with the effects of electromagnetic pulses from either weather or weapons.
A strong pulse could, the report claimed, take out the GPS system, which is relied upon by the the military and financial industry. A pulse could also disrupt electricity supplies and communications networks.
"The reactive posture described by the Government appears somewhat complacent,” said committee chair James Arbuthnot. “Space weather is a global threat and may affect many regions and countries simultaneously. It is time that the Government began to approach this matter with the seriousness it deserves."
The committee said the UK's dependence on its electronic infrastructure meant that any interruption of services could prove “catastrophic” and take a long time to put right, because replacing equipment would be difficult and time-consuming, with insufficient spare parts.
The likelihood of a severe space weather event is assessed to be moderate to high over the next five years
“The consequences might be long-term, widespread and catastrophic, and because of the interdependency of the systems which are likely to be affected, the current recovery plans may be of little value,” the report found.
High risk?
The threat of EMP disruption is nothing new – and has been a concern since the 1850s – but research into space weather suggests the risk is growing. “Severe space weather, which might cause geomagnetic storms impacting the Earth's magnetosphere, has been the subject of extensive research over the past year,” the report found.
“The likelihood of a severe space weather event is assessed to be moderate to high over the next five years, with the potential to cause damage to electrically conducting systems such as power grids, pipelines and signalling circuits.”
From around the web
We know this already
and have done for quite a while now...
When will they actually do something about it, rather than pontificating and gazing into their navels at length?
By mrmmm on 22 Feb 2012 
Inevitablity
Old news. Plus it's not IF - it's WHEN.
By drummerbod on 22 Feb 2012
Backup...
The first lesson in IT I learnt, was that when you automate a system, the first thing you do, is ensure that there is a documented manual system to take over from it, in case it fails...
It seems that we have become complacent and lazy over the years.
By big_D on 22 Feb 2012
Backup...
3rd time lucky? The site seems to be dropping my comments...
The first lesson in IT I learnt, was that when you automate a system, the first thing you do, is ensure that there is a documented manual system to take over from it, in case it fails...
It seems that we have become complacent and lazy over the years.
By big_D on 22 Feb 2012
GPS
How is the financial industry reliant on GPS?
I presume they must have preprogrammed satnavs in their Maybachs for when the population realise they're actually an unnecessary evil.
By dubiou on 22 Feb 2012
@dubiou
Telecommunications providers and financial institutions rely on GPS signals to precisely time-synchronise geographically separated computer clocks.
Ironically telecommunications used to be at risk from space weather because of conductive copper communications lines and reliance on satellite radio relays. They have removed that vulnerability with fibre optics, but at the same time moved to synchronous digital protocols reliant on accurate timing signals from vulnerable GPS satellites.
By JohnAHind on 22 Feb 2012
One Second After
For a good fictional account of an EMP attack try One Second After by William Forstchen.
By sheer coincidence last week I got some students (I'm a university lecturer) on a technology focussed module to imagine the effects of an EMP attack. I began by asking them to walk around the building for 10 minutes noting everything that required power or electronics to operate. I then asked them how they would get home? How would they cope in the followings hours, days & weeks? They were quite horrified once they began to realise the consequences of "space weather" or a deliberate EMP attack.
It was an interesting little exercise…
By philwane on 23 Feb 2012
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