Lightning is the extreme form of static. I worked fixing bank alarm systems. One place had constant entry keyboard failures. It was traced eventually to static from the staff frying the chips.
Question about electricity...
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Traced eventually?! How many trips out did it take to finally figure it out? How many chips did you go through?
I hate those calls where it is not apparent what's wrong!
Plastics traveling electrically isolated over a semi conductive surface will generate a static charge.
THIS is why you need to put gasoline, diesel, and kerosene containers on the ground before trying to fill them. Electrons on things like rubber and plastic float off easily and build up readily. They then build up to the point they discharge when distance requirements are met for the voltage created.
On 500 kva transmission lines that's ten feet....but it isn't an absolute....it can arc off at 20 feet. Barometric pressure, humidity, and temperature all play a role.
Petroleum distillates have very loose electrons....they push off easily but usually they, themselves are not conductive.
But they can create capacitors because electrons are negative magnets. So a long length of insulated wire running down a steel beam for a 100 feet or more will induce a voltage into a steel beam. (And anything electrically connected to that beam) (think high bay lights in a warehouse)
A magnetic field moving over a conductor creates a voltage. And AC current creates the relative motion because of its sine wave.
The keyboard was in an unusual place, at a carpeted entrance to the bank. After several call outs, one of our guys watched as people entered the pin number. It was fine until a woman entered the number. The keyboard locked immediately. The carpet was nylon and not treated with anti static. When asked, some of the staff complained about getting shocks. Nylons with nylon........ That was the easy part.
Getting the bank to do anything about it was the hard part. You would think disarming and enabling the alarm would be a priority. So for a few weeks, we simply replaced the board, told the management what to do and waited for the next call out. At least the board could be repaired. This was before the throwaway culture became the norm.
Be happy that it rebooted!
I almost posted, we call that good luck but I decided against it.