Following a remote attack that resulted in the explosions of pagers used by numerous Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and Syria, various theories about how such a complex operation was executed are circulating online. On Tuesday, the blasts claimed the lives of at least 12 individuals, including two children, and left nearly 3,000 injured. Hezbollah has attributed the attack to Israel.
This incident has heightened concerns about the possibility of a broader conflict in the Middle East, which Israel and Hezbollah, backed by Iran, have managed to avoid until now, despite ongoing attacks from both sides across Israel’s northern border since Hamas’s attack on October 7.
The Israeli military has chosen not to comment on the pager explosions, and details regarding the attack’s execution remain largely unclear. Investigators have not yet disclosed how the pagers were set off.
Pager explosions reasons explained
As for the cause of the pager explosions in Lebanon, cybersecurity experts indicated that the exact reasons are still uncertain. Experts suggest that the most plausible explanation is that the devices were sabotaged during their delivery, which could have facilitated targeted strikes, as the incidents appear confined to specific groups like Hezbollah rather than being widespread.
Intercepting and tampering with devices during delivery is a tactic commonly employed by intelligence agencies, as highlighted by whistleblower Edward Snowden regarding the NSA’s use of surveillance tools in exported routers and servers.
This strategy would allow operatives to insert explosives and alter the pager software, potentially enabling a reaction to a specific message or signal that could trigger an explosion, according to experts. The most probable scenario involves intercepting the shipment within the supply chain, where the packages would be carefully opened, modified, and resealed with new packaging. Due to the scale of several thousand devices, such an operation would necessitate meticulous planning and organization to execute without detection.
Gold Apollo pagers
The AR-924 pagers utilized by Hezbollah were branded as Gold Apollo. However, the Taiwanese manufacturer indicated that the devices were produced and sold by a company based in Budapest, BAC, which has not yet responded.
Security experts believe that the devices must have been physically tampered with. Operatives likely may have infiltrated the supply chain of the pagers, which were probably sourced earlier this year from a Hungarian manufacturer producing devices based on designs from a Taiwanese company.
An explosive device typically comprises five key components: a container, a battery, a triggering mechanism, a detonator, and an explosive charge. He noted that a pager already contains three of these components and that only a detonator and the charge would need to be added.
While batteries could potentially ignite a fire, the explosion images suggest something much more serious. Experts point out that batteries typically burn rather than explode in the way observed, implying that an explosive charge might have been integrated into the pagers, with the software modified to respond to a specific message that could have triggered the explosions.
Experts also suggest that the explosives could have been activated remotely by a certain message, which might have caused the battery to heat up and subsequently activate the explosives inside the device. The theory that malware could cause overheating in batteries has raised concerns on social media about the potential vulnerability of devices to such attacks.
Why are Hezbollah militants using pagers?
Regarding Hezbollah militants’ use of pagers, these small, battery-operated devices can receive and display numeric or textual messages and are predominantly utilized in hospitals due to their reliability and resistance to interference from medical equipment.
Hezbollah switched from mobile phones to pagers earlier in the year due to the vulnerabilities posed by mobile devices, which could be remotely hacked. Pagers, in contrast, are less susceptible to software hacking and lack traceability via the internet, requiring physical tampering to be compromised.
5,000 pagers distributed to Hezbollah were given to various organizations, including relief groups and civil society entities, in addition to fighters. While the operation appears targeted, it primarily affected civilians or potential combatants who were not actively engaged in fighting at the time of the attack.
Magitude of the attack
Experts believe that planning an attack of this magnitude could take anywhere from several months to two years. Security experts believe that the sophistication of the attack suggests extensive prior intelligence gathering.
Executing an operation of this nature requires building relationships for physical access to the pagers before sale, developing the necessary embedded technology, and identifying sources to verify the targets’ possession of the devices. It is likely that the compromised pagers appeared normal to users for some time prior to the attack.
Following the attacks, Hezbollah has already revised its communication strategies. Experts state that the group will need to reconsider its approach once again.
Also Read: Nine Dead, Over 2,800 Injured In Synchronised Pager Explosions Targeting Hezbollah In Lebanon
