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Hezbollah pager explosions kill several people in Lebanon

reuters.com

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Re: Hezbollah pager explosions kill several people in Lebanon

#4
post #3

Why was this flagged? I vouched for it as it would make for an interesting discussion about the security of these devices and how this kind of cyberattack might have happened. Are smartphones, for example, also vulnerable to it?

> Why was this flagged?

Anything any particularly motivated group dislikes here gets flagged; always been this way. Thanks for vouching.

> Are smartphones, for example, also vulnerable to it?

I also would love an answer to this question. Up until 12 minutes ago, I would never have thought _blowing up_ hundreds of pagers simultaneously was a realistic scenario.

If anyone can make sense of how this actually worked I'd be grateful. If it can be done to pagers, it seems likely that it can be done to other networked lithium devices: phones, tablets, laptops, smart watches, cameras, drones, medical devices, toys, and even electric vehicles.

Lest anyone tries to deny this happened: There's video of two separate cases on the nowinpalestine Instagram page.

Re: Hezbollah pager explosions kill several people in Lebanon

#6
post #3

Why was this flagged? I vouched for it as it would make for an interesting discussion about the security of these devices and how this kind of cyberattack might have happened. Are smartphones, for example, also vulnerable to it?

>Are smartphones, for example, also vulnerable to it?

Yes if Israeli intelligence gets their hands on your smartphone (probably before you buy it) and installs an explosive and a software-hardware back door.

Re: Hezbollah pager explosions kill several people in Lebanon

#7
post #3

Why was this flagged? I vouched for it as it would make for an interesting discussion about the security of these devices and how this kind of cyberattack might have happened. Are smartphones, for example, also vulnerable to it?

The subject is unfortunately likely to start a flamewar. I still think this should be on the front page because the technology and scope of this attack is unheard of if true. Israel somehow managed to weaponise hezbolla pagers by sending a message that caused them to explode. (Edit: i see the link i submitted has made it to the front page so it seems the moderators won't kill the story)

Re: Hezbollah pager explosions kill several people in Lebanon

#10
post #3

Why was this flagged? I vouched for it as it would make for an interesting discussion about the security of these devices and how this kind of cyberattack might have happened. Are smartphones, for example, also vulnerable to it?

I was wondering the same thing.

There might be other explanations than a cyberattack though. The pagers could have been prepared in some way before distribution.

From the videos, it looks like the explosions were quite sudden and remarkably violent for such a small device.

So in addition to people-hunting FPV drones, we now have the equivalent of exploding collars from science fiction movies like Running Man. I don't like where we're heading, but it was probably inevitable that technology would be used this way.

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