Just in case you thought that the fear of a nuclear attack was so 1980s it was not worth worrying about, a US data centre is advertising that it can survive a nuclear event.
The centre in Boyers, is a 2,000-sq.-ft. building purpose-built to protect against an electromagnetic pulse (EMP). To be fair an EMP burst could also come during a solar storm, but it does indicate that someone is still worried about nukes in the US.
The company that built the facility is not disclosing exactly how the data centre was constructed or what materials were used. It appears that the structure has an inner skin and an outer skin that use a combination of thicknesses and metals to provide EMP protection.
So far, the only other data centres that protect against electromagnetic pulses are underground, or offer containers and cabinets that shield IT equipment from EMPs.
While it sounds groovy, it is not clear how concerned people have to be about EMP protection. Most solar storms are not strong enough to hurt electronics, though they could disrupt GPS and radio communications. Sure there could be an apocalyptic storm, but if that were the case, your data might be safe but there would not be a single working PC in the United States.
The last one which happened was the 1859 Carrington Event, a solar storm that disrupted and knocked out the telegraph.
Then there is the question of a nuclear attack, which means you have to start worrying about Russians and Chinese again, which is unlikely. Finally, you have to worry about terrorists getting their paws on enough uranium to build an EMP device. Then you would have to be worried that instead of detonating it in New York, where they would do the most damage, they would chose to drop it in Boyers.
If you are worried about those sorts of things then EMP protection is exactly what you need for your data protection. Of course, you are also the sort of person who wears belt and braces and probably does not leave the building out of a fear of badgers falling from the sky and killing you.
