Pager bombs: Are low-tech devices sitting ducks?
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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Basic communication devices like pagers and walkie-talkies, used by Hezbollah to avoid being tracked by Israel, were manipulated to detonate, killing many and injuring thousands. Are basic devices the only ones that can be targeted? What about mobiles? Mint explains: Hezbollah had advised its members to stop using mobile phones to prevent Israel from tracking them.
But on 17 September, 5,000 pagers bought by Hezbollah a few months back, exploded simultaneously in Lebanon and Syria, killing many and injuring hundreds. Walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah met with a similar fate a day later, claiming more lives. Hezbollah accused Israel’s Mossad of planting the explosives and setting them off remotely.
The pagers were purportedly sold by Gold Apollo. But the Taiwanese firm said they were designed and made by Hungarian BAC Consulting KFT. Read more: ‘No Other Land’: The war on a West Bank village They rely on radio frequencies.
They may seem like relics in an age of smartphones but these devices are still used by healthcare professionals, industry workers, police and paramilitary for their long battery life and utility in emergencies. Most pagers, including the AR-924 model, can only receive messages. They are not online, lowering the risks of surveillance unlike smartphones that can be tracked even when they are powered off.
Walkie-talkies can both send and receive messages but only one person can speak at a time. They, too, use batteries and do not rely on cellular networks. The walkie-talkie market is forecast to touch $8.3 billion in 2032, according to Global Market Insights.
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