Explosion of Wireless Devices: Could It Happen with Smartphones?

Explosion of Wireless Devices: Could It Happen with Smartphones?

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Experts: Portable electronic devices are not at risk of exploding unless modified with explosives before being sold.

Lebanon witnessed a second wave of wireless communication device explosions on Wednesday. News reports indicated a new series of explosions targeting walkie-talkies, which were also used by Hezbollah members.

This came after the first wave of explosions on Tuesday, where thousands of wireless communication devices (pagers) used by Hezbollah members exploded, killing 12 people, including children, and injuring over 3,000 others. The effects of these explosions also extended into Syria, where injuries were reported in different areas.

These incidents raised many questions about how such explosions occurred and whether similar events could happen with modern devices like smartphones, wireless earbuds (such as AirPods), or other portable electronics we carry all the time.

AR924 pager from Gold Apollo.

What Are Pagers and Walkie-Talkies?

To understand what happened, it's essential first to know what devices exploded over the past two days. A pager is a portable wireless electronic device that was widely used before mobile phones became common. It was used to receive short text messages or notifications containing the caller's phone number for later contact. The device operates by sending signals over wireless networks.

These devices were used for quick communication in emergencies or in situations where individuals couldn’t immediately answer calls. With the rise of smartphones, the use of pagers has significantly decreased, though they are still used in some sectors like healthcare for reliable, rapid communication.

Types of Pagers:

1. Receiving Pagers Only: Designed to receive messages or notifications from certain senders, without the ability to send messages. These were commonly used in hospitals and factories to alert staff about new tasks or emergencies.
2. Sending and Receiving Pagers: Capable of sending and receiving text messages, though their capacity is very limited compared to modern smartphones.

Although pagers emerged in the 1950s and saw significant development in the following decades, their popularity peaked in the 1980s and 1990s, particularly among doctors, businesspeople, and government officials. With the advent of mobile phones in the late 1990s and early 2000s, pager use declined considerably, and they are now considered outdated technology.

Despite this, many doctors still prefer pagers for fast, accurate communication, and these devices are routinely used in medical facilities in Lebanon.

Walkie-Talkies:

Walkie-talkies, also known as two-way radios, are small electronic devices used for direct voice communication between two or more people over short to medium distances. They work by sending and receiving wireless signals, allowing real-time, two-way conversations.

Hezbollah members have relied on pagers and walkie-talkies to avoid having their communications intercepted by Israeli intelligence, allowing them to send encrypted messages without revealing their locations.

Walkie Talkie Devices - Agencies

How Were the Explosions Triggered?

As soon as the pagers began exploding in Lebanon, various theories circulated about how such simple, outdated devices were turned into dangerous weapons that claimed many lives.

Reports indicate that this wasn’t just a simple cyberattack but a complex, multi-stage operation. The theory that lithium batteries overheated due to a wireless signal and caused an explosion is difficult to believe since battery overheating typically results in a fire, not an explosion. Therefore, it seems more plausible that explosives were planted in the devices during manufacturing.

The New York Times reported that Israel had planted explosives inside a batch of pagers imported by Hezbollah from a Taiwanese company earlier this year.

Officials stated that Hezbollah ordered over 3,000 wireless communication devices from Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese company. Israel allegedly placed small amounts of explosives near the batteries of these devices, aiming for a large-scale detonation targeting Hezbollah members and their allies in the region.

According to reports, the tampered pagers were mostly AR924 models, although three other models from the same company were also included in the shipment. The targeted pagers received a fake signal that appeared to come from Hezbollah’s leadership, which acted as a trigger to activate the hidden explosives. Witnesses reported hearing warning signals just before the explosions.

Independent cybersecurity experts who reviewed footage of the attacks concluded that the power and speed of the explosions were caused by some form of explosive material.

Mikko Hypponen, a cybersecurity expert with WithSecure and an advisor on cybercrime for Europol, stated that these devices didn’t explode due to a normal technical malfunction or cyberattack but were deliberately modified to cause such devastating blasts, indicating careful planning.

Another expert, Robert Graham, added: “I don’t think this was a cyberattack. It’s extremely difficult to make batteries do more than just burn. The more logical explanation is that someone bribed the manufacturer to insert explosives.”

Gold Apollo, the Taiwanese company behind the pager devices, stated that it had allowed its brand to be used on AR924 pagers but that the devices were actually manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT, a company based in Budapest, Hungary. The Hungarian government denied involvement, with a spokesperson stating that the company was only a trade intermediary and had no manufacturing operations in Hungary.

Could This Happen to Modern Devices Like Smartphones?

The recent explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies have sparked global concerns about whether other devices, such as smartphones, wireless earbuds, smartwatches, laptops, and even pacemakers, could become targets for such attacks due to similarities in how they function.

Portable electronic devices, such as smartphones, also use lithium batteries, making them vulnerable to cyberattacks targeting their internal components, just like the pagers. However, experts assert that such devices are unlikely to explode unless they are modified with explosives before being sold. Moreover, modern smartphones have built-in safety features that prevent their batteries from overheating and exploding, unlike traditional pagers.

Experts believe that the attack on the pagers was highly advanced, carried out in multiple stages, and unlikely to be replicated on a larger scale. They emphasized that consumer electronics are not easy targets for such complex operations.

Additionally, experts pointed to weak supply chains as a potential reason for this incident. Contract manufacturers could exploit these supply chains to introduce harmful components into the final products, making it difficult to trace the source of the threat.

Similar Incidents

For comparison, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 incident in 2016 comes to mind. After the phone’s release, reports emerged of batteries randomly exploding, causing small fires and minor burns to users. However, those incidents were limited in number and didn’t occur simultaneously, as seen in Lebanon. Furthermore, the Galaxy Note 7 batteries didn’t explode but merely caught fire, with the worst injuries being minor burns.

This recent series of pager and walkie-talkie explosions raises serious concerns about cybersecurity and internet-connected devices, highlighting the need to enhance security measures throughout the product lifecycle—from manufacturing to distribution and use.