Question 171. What is TEMPEST?

TEMPEST is a standard for electromagnetic shielding for computer equipment. It was devised to address the threat that information might be easily read from a distance via emanation of radiation from computer systems. For instance, an attacker might intercept the radiation from the CRT of a terminal that is not protected against emission of stray radiation, thwarting any cryptographic protection that might otherwise be in place. TEMPEST describes techniques for countering these threats. For more details about TEMPEST, see [RG91].