Wireless signals are susceptible to periodic and random phenomena of natural origin such as background noise, EMI, RFI, CME and EMP to name a few. Some wireless technologies, such as AM, are susceptible to impulse noise such as distant lighting attacks; and others, such as FM, may be sensitive to some noise within the band of fluorescent lights. As designers, we try to anticipate the situations and circumstances to which our designs will be subject and provide solutions, solutions, or other types of solutions to solve these problems.
However, there is another type of situation to which wireless links are particularly vulnerable and is a deliberate traffic jam. Here, someone deliberately intends to block the communication capability of a link by targeting an attack that is particularly effective against the specific link or family of links. Binding can be attempted for malicious purposes, for reasons such as profit, or for military advantage in times of war.
Children with small boxes or kits can make and use interference to annoy parents, schools, and commit similar forms of chaos. Companies may use interference to interfere with a competitor's operations, slow down or block a company's network, or prevent vital data from reaching its destination. Financial institutions may interfere with communications to provide even a millisecond advantage when completing a transaction that can be tapped for profit. Military jams can cause drones to crash, interfere with tactical communications, and even jam or change GPS signals to confuse the enemy.
Jamming
There are several ways that interference can interfere with the normal operations of a system. If a remote access to the control center can be achieved, directing a dish, for example to a null point, can effectively silence a link. This problem is becoming increasingly important as more of our critical infrastructure is placed online and transmitted to the cloud, providing vulnerability for those seeking to reduce power, redirect a link, or even shut it down.