How Hezbollah pager blasts raise real risk of weaponised electronics on flights, at home

The scenario not only threatens individual safety but may also mark a new paradigm in warfare where the battlefield extends into the realm of personal technology

On September 17, a coordinated attack hit the Hezbollah in Lebanon as hundreds of pagers carried by its operatives exploded simultaneously. The devices, recently acquired by the Iran-backed group, detonated around 3:30 pm in Hezbollah strongholds, including Beirut’s southern suburbs.

The blasts killed at least nine people, including a child, and injured 2,800, overwhelming hospitals. A day later, wireless devices, such as walkie-talkies, solar equipment and car batteries exploded, resulting in at least another nine deaths and 300 people being injured.

The pager explosions in Lebanon have opened the proverbial Pandora’s Box for global intelligence agencies. Security experts point out that the incident highlights a troubling new dimension in modern warfare and the potential of physical tampering with everyday-use electronic devices such as smartwatches, earbuds and pacemakers, which could be weaponised if compromised by an attacker with physical access.

The pager attacks suggest precautions may be necessary for other electronic devices too. With the increasing availability of in-flight Wi-Fi on American, European and even Indian airlines, the possibility of such technology being weaponised cannot be ignored. This could prompt a reassessment of current aviation safety measures to address the evolving nature of threats in the digital age.

Such a scenario not only threatens individual safety but could also throw open a new paradigm in warfare where the battlefield extends into the realm of personal technology. It underscores the urgent need for robust security measures to protect consumer electronics and critical medical devices, given the blurring line between cyber and physical threats.

The attack highlights a serious breach in Hezbollah’s security, with its internal communication network targeted with deadly precision. It points to a new level of sophistication in covert warfare. According to intelligence sources, Israeli intelligence successfully intercepted a shipment of pager batteries that had been ordered from Lebanon. Acting on a confirmed tip, the intelligence agency seized the shipment and covertly modified the batteries. Small, undetectable explosives, known as Kiska 3, were inserted into the battery casings and connected to the wires via a discreet chip. The pager model was Rugged Pager AR924 IP67. The operation code word was ‘Below the Belt’.

“The modified batteries were programmed to heat up and detonate when triggered by the chip. This chip was remotely activated by sending a common message to all targeted pagers simultaneously, causing the explosions,” explained an intelligence officer. That operation demonstrates a precise and strategic use of technology, further highlighting Israel’s sophisticated capabilities in cyber and intelligence warfare.

Another official pointed out that the pagers already are containers—they contain a battery and a trigger. All that the perpetrators had to do was to add a detonator and a small quantity of explosive, perhaps RDX, and a receptor to trigger an explosion through a radio signal, etc.

The Washington-based think-tank American Enterprise Institute has raised serious concerns about the implications of recent pager attacks. The think-tank, while discussing the attack’s ramifications, points out how Wi-Fi has become the norm on passenger planes. Whereas airlines once banned Samsung phones due to questions about their safety after reports that they overheated and still do not allow shipment of lithium batteries in the cargo hold, most passengers today bring laptops, cellphones and tablets onboard flights. It added that on most American aircraft, access to the entertainment system requires passengers to use their phones, tablets or computers.

The think-tank added that the question for security experts—and certainly one on which Al Qaeda now works—is whether the operation presumably carried out against Hezbollah pagers could be replicated on American or European cellphones or other electronic equipment. “Since 9/11, aviation safety has gone through a lot of security-related changes, such as restrictions on even the amount of certain liquids allowed. The latest pager attacks bring back the focus on how hardware can be weaponised. Wi-Fi- enabled devices like mobile phones, laptops or even tablets pose a greater flight risk,” said a senior intelligence officer.

The officer also said that if terror organisations start using such tactics, then the aviation safety manual will need to be modified. While most American and European flights do have Wi-Fi onboard, many Indian airline operators too are providing it in air.

Indian intelligence agencies believe that to safeguard its national interests, India must bolster its communication infrastructure, modernise electronic warfare capabilities and reduce dependence on foreign-made components that could compromise security, as a majority of the country’s communication infrastructure is still of Chinese origin.

Colonel Hunny Bakshi (retd), a former commander of an elite intelligence unit created in the Indian Army after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, raises serious apprehensions about the Indian Army purchasing 30,000 Samsung phones under Project Sambhav. “The entire Indian Army leadership locations would be nicely mapped. Unless we have our own communication network, no one is safe. BSNL networks are based on Chinese equipment,” says Bakshi. He adds that future wars are no longer simple arithmetic while cautioning that the Official Secrets Act is redundant since as a government and a “sovereign state”, we have no sovereign authority to control the networks.

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