4 comments

[ 5.1 ms ] story [ 22.5 ms ] thread
- Mossad has been tracking Hezbollah's communications loopholes since the beginning of the war last year.

Mossad tried to intercept Hezbollah's wireless communications networks several times and tried to penetrate the party's wired communications network.

- After 3 months of fighting, the Hezbollah leadership asked all its members to stop using mobile and smart devices, and the Mossad was looking for alternative means of communication.

Mossad succeeded in intercepting a shipment of “Pager” devices on their way to Hezbollah outside Lebanon.

Mossad planted a small amount of the highly explosive PETN behind the device’s batteries, which made its way to Lebanon naturally and was distributed to thousands of Hezbollah members.

- PETN is flammable at 190°C, and ignition is ensured by raising the temperature of the battery as a result of raising the voltage.

- A number of UHV waves of the "Pager" device used by Hezbollah to ensure that all devices explode at the same moment were hacked.

Folks are dedicated to "lithium batteries can be hacked to explode" because its so juicy and scary.

I myself advocate for the abandonment of portable phones. Tie it to a desk; the thing is not your servant.

I still hafta say I find the idea that there's reliable software triggers to even ignite, let alone detonate, the batteries of devices in any large scale highly unlikely. Someone put effort into making these devices able to do that. It would almost certainly have been detectable had someone thought to look.

FYI this isn't a very "technical" analysis at least from a tech perspective. Definitely still too early to say, but hopefully this gets updated as we learn more.