Signal attenuation caused by the propagation path between the compromising emanation source (the location of secured IT equipment) and the location of the antenna of the potential infiltrating system has a direct influence on the electromagnetic safety of IT equipment. The article presents original analytical relationships necessary to estimate the attenuation values introduced by the propagation path of the potential compromising emanation signal, which correspond to the most probable locations of IT equipment in relation to the location of the potential infiltrating system. The author of the article analyzes various location scenarios for IT equipment – a potential source of compromising emanations – with a potential infiltrating system located either within or outside the boundaries of a building, in which said IT equipment is located. The aforementioned scenarios are characterized by the lowest propagation path attenuation of potential compromising emanation generated by the secured IT equipment and provide for location masking of the potential infiltrating system. Example design of protective solutions for IT equipment elaborated by article author in the form of a shielding enclosure is presented in the article as well.

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), based on the IEEE 802.16 standards, is a technology that offers low cost mobile broadband access to multimedia and internet applications for operators and end-users. Similarly to cellular phone or other Radio Frequency devices, WiMAX has to be considered as a possible source of electromagnetic pollution and so monitoring its emission could be necessary to verify compliance with the applicable emission limits. Generally, the monitoring of the electromagnetic pollution is performed by means of a suitable measurement chain constituted by an antenna connected to a traditional spectrum analyzer. The use of this kind of device to measure the power of digital modulated noise-like signals, such as WiMAX, requires to use proper measurement methods and to carefully set many instrument parameters to obtain reliable measurement results, otherwise a significant underestimate or overestimate of the human exposure can be obtained.

In this framework, this paper investigates the feasibility of using the traditional spectrum analyzer to perform the electromagnetic pollution measurements due to WiMAX devices. A large experimental campaign is carried out to identify the most proper measurement method and spectrum analyzer settings able to warrant reliable measurements.