Hi
I am looking at bitcoin. Learning slowly as I have been reading quite a bit about it. My question is one of security and safety of the system and an individual's wallet. My understanding is that if you lost your wallet or the data destroyed, you would lose your money forever. Is a USB flashdrive susceptible to loss from an EMP attack?
Most definately, yes. Unless you happen to have a faraday cage to keep it in.
Is the bitcoin service and servers sufficiently redundant around the world such that if there were an EMP attack in say the US and Europe, that the data and service would continue around the world?
There would be a temporary disruption, probably delays; but the outright destruction of bitcoin or the blockchain might actually require a Death Star attack or Giant Yellow Construction Spaceships making way for an interstellar bypass. Even the destruction of the Internet wouldn't likely destroy the blockchain, although it probably might not be of much value after that. Bitcoin uses the many-copies-keeps-data-safe method to an extreme, but only one complete copy of the blockchain is required to rebuild the network.
I have read that optical storage on a CD drive would survive an EMP attack and thus preserve one's wallet.
Probably, but then how would you read it? CD's have a limited data lifespan, unless you spend the cash to get archive grade disks and keep them in the refrigerator. 'Bit rot' has a literal meaning with regard to most commercial quality CD-R's
