electromagnetic shielding Archives

When Confidentiality Becomes a Strategic Risk

In the basements of government buildings — and inside secure zones of defence installations worldwide — a quiet battle takes place every day. Not with weapons, but with electromagnetic waves: invisible emissions that can carry sensitive information beyond the walls where it’s created.

Welcome to the world of electromagnetic eavesdropping, data exfiltration, and TEMPEST-related threats.
Welcome to the reason the TACITA ROOM® exists.

Developed through the collaboration of Lootens and WAVE by AGC, the TACITA ROOM® integrates WAVETRAP electromagnetic shielding glass to bring transparent EM protection into modern architecture—without turning workplaces into bunkers.

TACITA ROOM powered by WAVETRAP electromagnetic shielding glass

The Problem Nobody Sees

Imagine a meeting about a confidential defence project. The door is locked. Phones are surrendered. Everyone has clearance. It feels secure.

But inside the room, devices and infrastructure can still emit electromagnetic signals (laptops, projectors, cables, even the wiring in the walls). With the right equipment, those emissions can be intercepted and analysed from outside the room.

This is not science fiction; it’s a known risk category in information security. And for organisations handling state-sensitive information, critical IP, or large volumes of personal data, it’s not theoretical: it’s a vulnerability that needs to be managed.

The Traditional Answer: Bunkers in the Basement

Until now, the solution has often been drastic: build a highly shielded room — sometimes SCIF-like in approach— thick walls, heavy doors, limited daylight. Effective? Yes.

But these spaces are frequently uncomfortable, visually “loud,” expensive to construct, and difficult to retrofit into existing buildings. They can also disrupt operations due to long construction timelines and structural constraints.

There had to be an alternative way.

Enter TACITA ROOM®

A Secure Space Featuring WAVETRAP EM Shielding Glass

The TACITA ROOM® starts with a simple question:
Can we combine electromagnetic shielding with transparency, light, and modern architecture?

By combining laminated shielded glass (WAVETRAP) with a precision-engineered steel frame, the TACITA ROOM® creates a secure environment that can be integrated into modern workplaces.

It can be designed to:

provide shielding effectiveness above 60 dB across frequencies from 10 MHz to 7 GHz

maintain high light transmission for a bright, open space
integrate into modern office layouts with a premium architectural finish
support installation approaches that can minimize structural impact on the building (project-dependent)

The result: a secure space that feels like a modern room, not a bunker.

How WAVETRAP Electromagnetic Shielding Glass Enables Transparency

Shielding is traditionally associated with opaque materials—because metal is highly effective. But metal doesn’t let light through, and it doesn’t blend easily into contemporary architecture.

The breakthrough lies in transparent shielding layers laminated within the glazing. This enables the glass to remain transparent while contributing to electromagnetic attenuation. The engineered frame then reinforces the overall integrity of the enclosure and helps control leakage points at interfaces and edges.

Utilities matter too. Secure spaces are only as strong as their weak points—ventilation openings, power lines, and data lines. That’s why the room can be configured with shielded components and filtering strategies so signals are controlled not only through the walls, but also through the utilities that enter the space.

Technically, it’s engineered down to the details.
For the user, it simply feels like a bright, functional space where work can happen confidently.

Transparent RF shielding glazing WAVETRAP by WAVE by AGC

More Than Defence

Applications Across the Board

While the TACITA ROOM® is highly relevant for defence and government environments, demand is growing across sectors where confidentiality is mission-critical:

financial institutions handling M&A or sensitive negotiations
technology companies preparing product launches and strategy
hospitals and research environments handling sensitive data
law firms where confidentiality is non-negotiable
executive teams managing high-impact decisions

Where information is valuable—and where leaks carry serious consequences—the TACITA ROOM® is relevant.

Installation Without Drama

A key advantage is the modular approach, which can enable deployment with less disruption than traditional construction-heavy secure rooms.

Configuration is adaptable to project requirements: dimensions, layout, performance targets, and integration constraints. Where compliance or certification needs apply, the project can be aligned to the relevant specifications and validation pathway.

Probably the Safest Room in the Building

This baseline isn’t meant as hype. It reflects a design philosophy: security without compromise on usability. The TACITA ROOM® is built for organisations that need more than privacy, where confidentiality must be engineered, not assumed. It combines protection with professionalism. It doesn’t hide the need for secure work, it enables it, comfortably and convincingly.

Welcome to the Future of secure Spaces

The TACITA ROOM® proves you don’t have to choose between protection and a pleasant work environment. It’s a new way to think about secure spaces: transparent, integrated, and engineered for the realities of modern threat environments.

Want to see it in action ?

Discover the TACITA ROOM® and WAVETRAP electromagnetic shielding glass meet us at BEDEX (Brussels, March).

">Book a demo at BEDEX

FAQ — WAVETRAP & TACITA ROOM®

What is WAVETRAP?
WAVETRAP is WAVE by AGC’s electromagnetic shielding glazing solution, designed to attenuate electromagnetic signals while preserving transparency.

What shielding level can TACITA ROOM® achieve?
Depending on configuration, TACITA ROOM® can be designed for shielding effectiveness above 60 dB across 10 MHz to 7 GHz. Curves are made available on request. ( IEEE-299 Standard measure Protocol)

What are TEMPEST-related threats?
They refer to risks linked to electromagnetic emissions from electronic devices and infrastructure that may be intercepted and exploited.

Can TACITA ROOM® be installed in existing buildings?
Yes—its modular approach can support installations that reduce disruption and structural impact (project-dependent). Check TACITA Room Web site

Debunking the Myths of Digital Security and Unveiling the Unseen Threats to Your Organization

In our hyper-connected world, are your physical spaces truly secure from threats you can’t even see? We surround ourselves with firewalls, antivirus software, and encryption, believing our digital assets are safe. But what if the biggest vulnerability isn’t in your software, but in your architecture itself?

Introducing WAVETRAP®, the first line of architectural defense against the growing risk of electromagnetic interference and proximity-based cyber-attacks. This is more than just glass—it’s an invisible shield. WAVETRAP’s specialized technology blocks harmful electromagnetic signals without sacrificing natural light or aesthetic appeal. By seamlessly integrating this protection into your façade or as interior partitions, you create a secure sanctuary for your most sensitive operations.

But to understand why this physical shield is essential, we must first dismantle the common myths that give us a false sense of security.

Myth #1: “My Wi-Fi is safe. I use WPA3 encryption and a strong password.

The Reality: Encryption is a lock, but attackers can still knock on your door.

Strong encryption like WPA3 is a fundamental and necessary layer of security. However, it doesn’t make your network invincible. Attackers don’t always need to crack your password to cause chaos.

Deauthentication Attacks: An attacker sitting in a car outside your building can flood your Wi-Fi network with “deauthentication frames,” forcibly disconnecting your employees from the legitimate network. In the ensuing confusion, they can present an “Evil Twin” network—a fake access point with the same name as your real one. A frustrated employee, trying to reconnect quickly, might connect to this malicious network, handing the attacker full access to their traffic. The Marriott hotel group was fined $600,000 by the FCC for using this very technique.

Protocol Vulnerabilities: Even the most secure protocols have been proven vulnerable. The KRACK and FragAttacks vulnerabilities showed that flaws in the WPA2 protocol could allow attackers within range to decrypt or even inject data into a secure network, regardless of password strength. While patches are released, the continuous discovery of such flaws proves that software-level security is a constant arms race.

WAVETRAP® acts as a “physical firewall” for radio frequencies. It creates a semi-Faraday cage effect, blocking over 99.9% of signals from passing through the glass. An attacker in the parking lot can’t launch a deauthentication attack or broadcast an Evil Twin network if their signals can’t penetrate your building’s perimeter in the first place. It neutralizes the threat before it even reaches your devices.

Myth #2: “Digital eavesdropping is a science-fiction scenario. The technology is out of reach for common criminals.”

The Reality: The barrier to entry for wireless hacking has been dramatically lowered

What was once the exclusive domain of intelligence agencies is now accessible to criminals, competitors, and even hobbyists.

Affordable Hacking Tools: A motivated attacker can begin attempting Wi-Fi attacks within minutes using a €5 Wi-Fi adapter and freely downloadable software like Kali Linux. Specialized devices like the Wi-Fi Pineapple, designed for Wi-Fi attacks, or Software-Defined Radios (SDRs) for cellular experiments are available for just a few hundred euros.

New Attack Vectors: The threat is now mobile. In 2023, a financial firm’s network was infiltrated using a drone equipped with a Wi-Fi Pineapple, which landed on the roof. This demonstrates that an attacker no longer needs to be physically present in a suspicious van; they can operate covertly from a distance, turning public spaces near your building into a launchpad for attacks.

Electromagnetic Eavesdropping: Your devices leak information. Attackers can use sophisticated antennas to capture the electromagnetic emanations from your computer screens, keyboards, and printers, effectively reconstructing what you are seeing and typing from a distance.

By containing electromagnetic signals within a defined space, WAVETRAP® prevents them from leaking outside. This drastically reduces the risk of war-driving, drone-based snooping, and remote eavesdropping. A conference room shielded with WAVETRAP® glass becomes a secure “digital black-out” zone, ensuring that sensitive discussions and the data on your screens remain confidential.

Myth #3: “Ransomware attacks are always remote. Our anti-phishing training is enough to prevent them.”

The Reality: Proximity attacks are a growing initial vector for deploying ransomware.

While phishing remains a dominant threat, a 2024 analysis by Kroll showed that nearly 10% of all unauthorized external breaches began by exploiting weaknesses in externally accessible services—a category to which wireless networks inherently belong.

An attacker doesn’t need an employee to click a malicious link if they can gain access to your network directly. A study by ALTEPRO revealed that corporate buildings consistently leak wireless signals into public areas. An attacker can use this leakage to find a weak point, gain initial access to your guest or corporate Wi-Fi, and from there, move laterally through your network to deploy ransomware. In this scenario, your best-in-class phishing drills become irrelevant because the initial breach completely bypassed employee interaction.

WAVETRAP® secures your physical perimeter against this initial breach. By preventing wireless signals from leaving the building, it eliminates the opportunity for an attacker to exploit them from a nearby, publicly accessible location. This strengthens your defense-in-depth strategy, ensuring that your first line of defense isn’t an employee’s inbox, but your building’s own structure.

Myth #4: “Our software and network security tools are sufficient to protect our digital assets.

The Reality: True cyber resilience requires a multi-layered approach, including physical security.

Modern cybersecurity standards like NIS2 and DORA mandate a “defense-in-depth” strategy, which combines multiple security layers. These layers are typically categorized as:

Technical Measures: Firewalls, encryption, network segmentation.

Organizational Measures: Employee training, security audits, incident response plans.

Physical Measures: Access control, and increasingly, shielded rooms and specialized glass.

Relying solely on software is like locking your files in a digital safe but leaving the doors and windows of the building wide open. If an attacker can get inside the network via a wireless vulnerability, many of your software defenses can be bypassed.

digital age. It is a passive, always-on defense that doesn’t require updates, patching, or configuration. It doesn’t care if it’s a zero-day Wi-Fi exploit or a new type of IMSI catcher; it simply blocks the radio frequency signals, rendering entire categories of attacks ineffective. It complements your existing technical and organizational measures to create a truly comprehensive and resilient security posture.

Myth #5: “The cyber incidents that shielding glass prevents are rare and not that serious.”

The Reality: These incidents are happening now, and the consequences are devastating.

The history of cybercrime is filled with examples where a wireless vulnerability led to catastrophic results.

The TJX Breach: One of the largest retail data thefts in history began when attackers used war-driving to find a store with weak WEP Wi-Fi. They cracked it, pivoted to the corporate network, and stole over 45 million credit card numbers, costing the company over $200 million.

SS7 Bank Hacks: In 2017, criminals exploited flaws in the global telecom network to intercept SMS two-factor authentication codes, draining German bank accounts.

IMSI Catcher Espionage: Foreign spies have been confirmed to be using fake cell towers (IMSI catchers) near sensitive government locations like Washington D.C. to intercept mobile communications.

The economic impact is staggering. The global cost of cybercrime is projected to reach **$12 trillion USD by 2025**, making it figuratively the world’s third-largest economy. Underestimating the risk of proximity attacks is a critical gap in any modern security strategy.

WAVETRAP® offers a proactive defense against these high-impact threats. By shielding sensitive areas, you protect against data breaches, financial theft, and corporate espionage. It is an essential tool for any organization operating in critical sectors.

Your Invisible Shield Awaits

The digital and physical worlds have merged. Your architectural choices are now a critical component of your cybersecurity strategy. Don’t let your most valuable assets be compromised by a threat you can’t even see.

WAVETRAP® offers transparent electromagnetic shielding that enhances the reliability of your digital services, improves electromagnetic compatibility for your complex systems, and provides an unparalleled layer of security.

Secure your space. Protect what matters. Contact the WAVETRAP® experts today to learn how our groundbreaking glass technology can become your ultimate invisible shield.

Get in touch with us now.