NIST 800-53 REV 5 • PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
PE-21 — Electromagnetic Pulse Protection
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Supplemental Guidance
An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is a short burst of electromagnetic energy that is spread over a range of frequencies. Such energy bursts may be natural or man-made. EMP interference may be disruptive or damaging to electronic equipment. Protective measures used to mitigate EMP risk include shielding, surge suppressors, ferro-resonant transformers, and earth grounding. EMP protection may be especially significant for systems and applications that are part of the U.S. critical infrastructure.
Practitioner Notes
Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) events — from nuclear detonations, solar storms, or intentional EMP weapons — can destroy electronic equipment. This control requires protective measures for systems that must survive such events.
Example 1: For critical infrastructure or continuity-of-government systems, install EMP-hardened enclosures (Faraday cages) around essential equipment. Use EMP-rated surge protectors on all power and data lines entering the protected space. Consult MIL-STD-188-125 for DoD requirements.
Example 2: For most commercial organizations, basic EMP protection includes quality surge protectors on all power circuits, fiber optic cabling for external data connections (fiber is inherently EMP-resistant), and maintaining offline backup copies of critical data that would survive an EMP event.