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From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Re: Zenith-U.S. Government Contract
Message-ID: <4457@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 13-Oct-84 21:23:50 EDT
Article-I.D.: utzoo.4457
Posted: Sat Oct 13 21:23:50 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 13-Oct-84 21:23:50 EDT
References: <3365@ecsvax.UUCP>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 17

> Does anybody know anything about the "Tempest" specs and what they mean?

The "Tempest" specs are a tough set of specs on exactly how much of the
system's electromagnetic activity can be detected at specific (short)
ranges.  The intent is not protecting other systems from interference,
but protecting secret data against electromagnetic eavesdropping.  In
theory, you can get a nice readout of a computer's internal activity
by monitoring its radio emissions; the Tempest specs aim at cutting down
the radiation to the point where such snooping is utterly impractical.

The details of the Tempest specs are secret (!).  You can't even get a
look at them unless the government agrees that you are a potential
supplier of Tempest-qualified gear, and you meet the other assorted
prerequisites for a suitable level of security clearance.
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry