TEMPEST - Electronic eavesdropping

[R.O.Jackson-SE1@computer-science.birmingham.ac.uk]

Transient Electromagnetic Pulse Emanation Standard (TEMPEST) is the
US standard defining the amount of electromagnetic radiation that a
device may emit without compromising the information it is 
processing.

In the US it not illegal to posess TEMPEST-surveillance equipment but
it is illegal to take appropriate counter-measures to prevent 
surveillance. The US government has refused to release details of its
TEMPEST research and has restricted the dissemination of independent 
research by classifying it.

The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) makes use of TEMPEST secured
electronics and computers as they believe that the drug cartels may
possess surveillance equipment.

I am interested in gathering comments on the social, legal, ethical,
and technical aspects of use of TEMPEST surveillance equipment in
the US and Europe with the aim of including it in a discussion
of the threats to computer/digital systems.



Please reply by E-mail. I will provide a summary to anybody who
requests one.

thanks, 	- Rob Jackson

(more information on TEMPEST can be found in the paper
 "Eavesdropping On the Electromagnetic Emanations of Digital
  Equipment: The Laws of Canada, England, and the US" by
  Cristopher Seline - available on FTP from csrc.ncsl.nist.gov)