Lebanon pager explosions: Hackers, chip bombs and Mossad’s plan… 11 questions that emerged from the Lebanon pager attack

1. What kind of technology and science was behind the pager explosion?

Pagers are simple radio devices. Small messages or signals are received through them. These are used, in particular, via radio frequencies. If someone wants to detonate such a device, he will have to use a remotely triggered explosive. It is already hidden in the pager. But for this, the pager must be tampered with inside the company before it reaches people. Or the weapon should be hidden inside the pager. This is too secret.

Such attacks can also be done through frequency jamming, hacking or control of wireless signals. Radio frequency identification (RFID) is used for this purpose. The wireless communication protocol is broken. Or with the help of pager technology to trigger the explosives stored in it. This is the most advanced electronic warfare.

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2. Has a pager explosion ever been done anywhere before?

No, this is the first case of its kind in the world. But Israel has already affected the production lines of companies before. In September 2023, Stuxnet was used in missiles of companies that supplied missiles to Iran. It affects the software and causes explosions. That is, if Iran manufactured missiles and stored them in its military depots, they would explode there. But Iran dealt with the attack in time. The missiles did not explode. Explosions with IEDs implanted in mobile phones have happened many times before, but this is the first time this type of attack has happened.

3. How do Hezbollah fighters talk to each other and what is the communication system?

Hezbollah fighters use pagers to communicate with each other. Because it is not easy to keep an eye on anyone. Hezbollah fighters use three types of pagers. Motorola LX2, Teletrim and Gold Apollo Rugged Pager AR924. The job of the three is just to send and receive messages. Thousands of Hezbollah fighters have pagers. Hezbollah believes that pagers are no easier to track or hack than smartphones. That is why it is used the most.

Hezbollah’s communication network has many layers of communication. Civilian networks are also included in it. There is also a traditional information system. Hezbollah has developed its own fiber optic network. This way, Israel or any other country cannot intercept it.

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4. How long has Hezbollah been using pagers?

Hezbollah intelligence uses many counterintelligence tools. They also have electronic surveillance and interception technology. Since 2011, Hezbollah has had the ability to analyze mobile phone data. In the 90s, Hezbollah fighters learned to download unencrypted data.

Hezbollah, which allegedly developed a counterintelligence system with the help of Russia and its spy agency, the FSB, and Iran, discovered a breach in Israel’s fiber-optic network near Mount Senin in 2008.

Pagers are an old technology. They are known for more secure, low-data communications. There are no detailed information on how long pagers have been in use. But it is believed that all of these systems were built by Hezbollah since 1980.

5. How did Israel gain access to Hezbollah’s paging system?

The Israeli spy agency Mossad has very modern and sophisticated electronic warfare technology. They can intercept any type of communication signal. They can hack. They can plant malware. They can control all the pagers of Hezbollah. Human intelligence (HUMINT) plays a big role in this. It is also the source of intelligence for modifying Hezbollah pagers with explosives. To penetrate such communication systems, electronic signal interception technology and human intelligence networks are needed. Israel mixes it very well.

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6. How can Israel be sure that these pagers will be sent to Hezbollah fighters?

Israel could get these details in two ways. Through the human intelligence network, or HUMINT, or the communications stream. Beyond that, by tracing the supply chain of the company that makes the pagers, where these order number pagers are going. Beyond that, Israel conducts electronic surveillance on Hezbollah fighters. Saw the usage patterns. Intercepted radio transmissions. That way it could know which batch of pagers was going where.

7. Were specific pagers chosen for attack, or were they simply compromised?

Hezbollah fighters use pagers from three companies. Motorola LX2, Teletrim and Gold Apollo Rugged Pager AR924. Israeli HUMINT must have tracked them. Must have seen the flow of communication. Find out which of these pagers are used the most. What is the pattern of their use? Radio transmissions must have been intercepted. Then it would have known which pager to target.

8. Does Israel know which Hezbollah fighters are using pagers, or is it spying through technology?

This type of operation requires both technical help and human intelligence. Through HUMINT, specific pagers can be identified, as well as the people who use them. But pager communications can be tracked through signals intelligence (SIGINT) and electronic surveillance. That way patterns can be known. And also the movement of the pagers.

9. Is Hezbollah afraid of cell phones?

Yes… Hezbollah has always avoided the use of mobile phones and smartphones. Because through them, it becomes easier to track Hezbollah fighters. This way their location is known. The exact location of the phone owner is obtained through the phone’s GPS or cell tower signals. Therefore, Hezbollah thought it would be better to keep a mobile pager based on old technology.

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Encrypted radio messages come and go in pagers. Any type of intelligence message can be sent easily. It is difficult to track. Pagers are not easily hacked or tracked compared to cell phones. Cell phones can explode. This is why Hezbollah uses pagers.

10. Is such an attack possible with current technology?

Yes. Technically, a pager can be exploded. Or any device with any explosive part. It is easy to operate them remotely. Mobile phones have been used as IEDs for years. Jamming devices such as pagers require very complex and sensitive planning. In addition, the location of the pager should be known exactly. How much damage can it cause? Which communication network does it use?

11. Have any espionage groups carried out such mobile attacks?

Terrorists have used cell phones to carry out such attacks many times, but there is little news about spy organizations or security agencies doing so. Or possessing extremely high intelligence. Mossad has carried out targeted attacks. Attacks using electronic devices. Among them was the 2008 killing of Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh. whose car was blown up in Damascus.