A startling incident in Lebanon has raised awareness of a device that is rarely discussed: pagers. At least nine individuals were killed and up to 3,000 injured when hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members and medics burst at the same time on September 17, 2024. Even though this attack has significant political ramifications, the technical details of how it was executed are equally amazing and horrifying.
Even in industries where secure communication is essential, pagers—the little communication devices that many of us recall from the 1990s—remain in use today. Pagers have been used by the militant organization Hezbollah, which is active in Lebanon, since they have some distinct advantages over more contemporary communication tools like cellphones.
Because pagers run on radio frequencies rather than cellular or internet networks, it is more difficult to track, hack, or spy on them. Short text messages or warnings are sent to these devices by a central operator. They are therefore thought to be a more secure choice for organizations like Hezbollah, which depend on dodging contemporary tracking methods.
However, as this instance demonstrates, high-tech sabotage can affect even antiquated technology.
How could a pager explode?
The question on everyone’s mind: how do you turn a device as basic as a pager into a bomb?
Although the specifics of what transpired remain unknown, a number of theories have been put forth. A direct assault on the pagers’ batteries is one option. Lithium-ion batteries, which are used in many pagers, have a mechanism called thermal runaway that can cause them to explode if tampered with. Basically, a small but powerful explosion can occur from forcing a battery to overheat due to a flaw in its construction. This can start a chemical chain reaction.
Nevertheless, remotely deactivating a pager battery is a difficult task. Pagers don’t connect to the internet like cellphones do, so a hacker would need to find another way to deliver the triggering signal. One possibility is that the system may have been compromised, sending out a signal that led to the batteries overheating over the radio network that pagers use to receive messages.
Hacking the supply chain?
Manufacturing-related manipulation is another likely scenario. Hezbollah’s pagers might have been compromised before their arrival in Lebanon. According to certain sources, there is a possibility that Israeli intelligence snuck into the supply chain and inserted explosive components into the devices during their manufacturing or distribution. If this is the case, it would explain why several explosives detonated simultaneously in various locations.
Hezbollah placed an order for a number of pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo, which later reached Lebanon, according to a Reuters report. However, the company has denied producing the devices that were used in the explosions, stating that another company used their logo to make the pagers. If this was a supply chain attack, it would demonstrate how easily even low-tech technology can be turned into a weapon if it is compromised at the right moment.
Could this happen to smartphones?
This raises an interesting and scary question: are smartphones susceptible to the same kind of attack?
Due to their greater connectivity, smartphones are more susceptible to hacking than pagers. We’ve seen instances of hackers remotely installing dangerous malware on phones throughout the years. There aren’t any examples of explosions targeted at smartphones. Malicious software, however, has the potential to overheat the gadget to the point of catching fire or even exploding.
Defective manufacturing has resulted in battery explosions in smartphones. A phone exploded in the hands of an 8-year-old girl in Kerala last year, taking her life. In a different Madhya Pradesh case, a suspected cell phone explosion in Ujjain claimed the life of a 68-year-old man. However, no verified stories of a smartphone being remotely compromised to set off an explosion exist.
Why was this ‘Pager’ attack different?
The pager attack is distinct since it makes use of equipment that isn’t often linked to a larger network, which would have given Hezbollah a false sense of security. This may have actually been a major factor in the group’s decision to continue using pagers since they reasoned that their lack of connectivity protected them from high-tech meddling. However, as the explosions demonstrate, outdated technology might still be vulnerable if a hacker is prepared to take a long-term approach, such as manufacturing defective parts.
Although the specifics are yet unknown, the pager explosions in Lebanon may mark the beginning of a new era of cyber-physical attacks in which technology—whether old or new—becomes both a tool and a target.
Also read: Unveiling the Ethical Imperatives: Navigating the Intersection of AI and Cybersecurity
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