Pager explosions in Lebanon kill 9; suspected hacker attack

The explosions that occurred in Lebanon this Tuesday (17), It killed at least nine people and injured an estimated 2,800 people.According to information from the local Health Ministry, the main suspicion is that pagers used by Hezbollah operatives were hacked and detonated in a coordinated attack, causing the incident. Al Jazeera.

Very popular in the 1980s and 1990s Pagers are small communication devices that use radio signals to send and receive messages.Each equipment has a code that must be transmitted to the telephone switchboard when transmitting the message.

Despite the loss of space on mobile phones, the device is still being used. In the case of the Iranian-backed armed group, Warriors started using old devices instead of smartphones As a way to avoid being tracked by Israel, as they do not have a geolocation system.

According to Lebanese authorities, A few months ago, Hezbollah pagers were imported and explosives weighing 10 to 20 grams were found inside them.in the middle of a fake electronic component. One of the injured reported that the device was heating up for several minutes before it exploded.

Confusing history

One hypothesis being discussed following the pager explosions in Lebanon is that the equipment was the target of a cyberattack. Israel allegedly allowed batteries to overheat and explodeBut according to StackThis method is unlikely to be used, especially when a large number of devices are involved.

For the experts consulted by the publication, Potential for supply chain compromise greater than anticipated cyberattackIn this case, the authors of the act would have accessed the pagers before sending them to users, including explosives next to the battery of each one.

Israel, accused of causing the incident, has not yet responded to the accusations. The Lebanese government has asked all pager users in the country to destroy their devices immediately.