Pagers and walkie-talkies over cellphones – a security expert explains why Hezbollah went low-tech for communications
The synchronized explosion of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon in 2024 targeted Hezbollah, demonstrating the vulnerabilities and tracking capabilities of communication devices.
Last Updated on September 18, 2024 by Daily News StaffA police officer examines a damaged car after thousands of pagers exploded simultaneously across Lebanon on Sept. 17, 2024. AP Photo/Hussein Malla
Electronic pagers across Lebanon exploded simultaneously on Sept. 17, 2024, killing 12 and wounding more than 2,700. The following day, another wave of explosions in the country came from detonating walkie-talkies. The attacks appeared to target members of the militant group Hezbollah.
The pagers attack involved explosives planted in the communications devices by Israeli operatives, according to U.S. officials cited by The New York Times. Hezbollah had recently ordered a shipment of pagers, according to the report.
Secretly attacking the supply chain is not a new technique in intelligence and military operations. For example, the U.S. National Security Agency intercepted computer hardware bound for overseas customers, inserted malware or other surveillance tools and then repackaged them for delivery to certain foreign buyers, a 2010 NSA internal document showed. This differs from accessing a specific person’s device, such as when Israel’s Shin Bet secretly inserted explosives into a cellphone to remotely kill a Hamas bombmaker in 1996.
Hezbollah, a longtime adversary of Israel, had increased its use of pagers in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. By shifting to relatively low-tech communication devices, including pagers and walkie-talkies, Hezbollah apparently sought an advantage against Israel’s well-known sophistication in tracking targets through their phones.The second wave of explosions in Lebanon involved walkie-talkies. AP Photo
Cellphones: The ultimate tracker
As a former cybersecurity professional and current security researcher, I view cellular devices as the ultimate tracking tool for both government and commercial entities – in addition to users, criminals and the mobile phone provider itself. As a result, mobile phone tracking has contributed to the fight against terrorism, located missing people and helped solve crimes.
Conversely, mobile phone tracking makes it easy for anyone to record a person’s most intimate movements. This can be done for legitimate purposes such as parents tracking children’s movements, helping you find your car in a parking lot, and commercial advertising, or nefarious ends such as remotely spying on a lover suspected of cheating or tracking political activists and journalists. Even the U.S. military remains concerned with how its soldiers might be tracked by their phones.
Mobile device tracking is conducted in several ways. First, there is the network location data generated by the phone as it moves past local cell towers or Stingray devices, which law enforcement agencies use to mimic cell towers. Then there are the features built into the phone’s operating system or enabled by downloaded apps that may lead to highly detailed user tracking, which users unwittingly agree to by ignoring the software’s privacy policy or terms of service.
This collected data is sometimes sold to governments or other companies for additional data mining and user profiling. And modern smartphones also have built-in Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS capabilities that can help with locating and tracking user movements around the world, both from the ground and via satellites. https://www.youtube.com/embed/CxC1KCoGbIM?wmode=transparent&start=0 Your phone contains many sensors that make it useful – and easy to track.
Mobile devices can be tracked in real time or close to it. Common technical methods include traditional radio direction-finding techniques, using intelligence satellites or drones, deploying “man in the middle” tools like Stingrays to impersonate cellular towers to intercept and isolate device traffic, or installing malware such as Pegasus, made by Israeli cyberarms company NSO to report a device’s location.
Nontechnical and slower techniques of user tracking include potentially identifying general user locations from their internet activity. This can be done from website logs or the metadata contained in content posted to social media, or contracting with data brokers to receive any collected location data from the apps that a user might install on their device.
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Indeed, because of these vulnerabilities, the leader of Hezbollah earlier this year advised his members to avoid using cellular phones in their activities, noting that Israel’s “surveillance devices are in your pockets. If you are looking for the Israeli agent, look at the phone in your hands and those of your wives and children.”
Researchers have shown how these features, often intended for the user’s convenience, can be used by governments, companies and criminals to track people in their daily lives and even predict movements. Many people still aren’t aware of how much their mobile devices disclose about them.
Pagers, however, unlike mobile phones, can be harder to track depending on whether they support two-way communication.
Why go low-tech
A pager that only receives messages does not provide a signal that can facilitate tracking its owner. Therefore, Hezbollah’s use of pagers likely made it more challenging to track their operatives – thus motivating Israeli intelligence services’ purported attack on the supply chain of Hezbollah’s pagers.
Using low-tech tactics and personal couriers while avoiding the use of mobile phones and digital tools also made it difficult for the technologically superior Western intelligence agencies to locate Osama bin Laden for years after the 9/11 attacks.
In general, I believe the adversary in an asymmetric conflict using low-tech techniques, tactics and technology will almost always be able to operate successfully against a more powerful and well-funded opponent.
A well-documented demonstration of this asymmetry in action was the U.S. military’s Millennium Challenge war game in 2002. Among other things, the insurgent Red forces, led by Marine General Paul van Riper, used low-tech tactics including motorcycle couriers instead of cellphones to evade the Blue forces’ high-tech surveillance. In the initial run of the exercise, the Red team won the contest in 24 hours, forcing exercise planners to controversially reset and update the scenario to ensure a Blue team victory.
Lessons for everyone
The preference for terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and al-Qaida to avoid using smartphones is a reminder for everyone that you can be, and likely are being tracked in various ways and for various purposes.
Israel’s purported response to Hezbollah’s actions also holds a lesson for everyone. From a cybersecurity perspective, it shows that any device in your life can be tampered with by an adversary at points along the supply chain – long before you even receive it.
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Hollywood Legend Rob Reiner and Wife Found Dead; Son in Custody
Renowned filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead in their Los Angeles home in a reported homicide. Police have arrested their son in connection with the case, and tributes are pouring in.
Director Rob Reiner participates in a discussion following a screening of the film LBJ at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas on Saturday October 22, 2016 On Saturday evening October 22, 2016, the LBJ Presidential Library held a sneak peek of Rob Reiner’s new filmÊLBJ, starring Woody Harrelson as the 36th president. The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, chronicles the life and times of Lyndon Johnson who would inherit the presidency at one of the most fraught moments in American history. Following the screening, director Rob Reiner, actor Woody Harrelson, and writer Joey Hartstone joined LBJ Library Director Mark Updegrove on stage for a conversation about the film. LBJ Library photo by Jay Godwin 10/22/2016
Hollywood Legend Rob Reiner and Wife Found Dead; Son in Custody
December 15, 2025
Renowned filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, 68, were found dead in their Brentwood, Los Angeles home on Sunday, authorities say. Emergency responders were called to the residence Sunday afternoon, where both were discovered with fatal wounds consistent with a stabbing. Police are treating the case as a double homicide.
Los Angeles police arrested the couple’s 32-year-old son, Nick Reiner, in connection with the deaths. He is being held in custody as investigators continue to piece together the circumstances surrounding the incident.
2016 SAMHSA Voice Awards
Reiner was one of Hollywood’s most influential figures, known for his work as a director, producer and actor. His career spanned decades, from early television fame to directing beloved films that shaped American cinema.
Friends, colleagues and public figures have begun sharing tributes and reactions to the news as the investigation is ongoing.
More details will be updated as they become available.
🇯🇵 Japan Earthquake Update — What You Need to Know (December 2025)
Japan Earthquake Update — A powerful magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the coast of Aomori, Japan, triggering tsunami warnings and a rare megaquake advisory. Here are the latest updates on damage, aftershocks, government response, and ongoing seismic risks as of December 2025.
🇯🇵 Japan Earthquake Update — What You Need to Know (December 2025)
On December 8, 2025, a powerful earthquake — measured at magnitude 7.5 (7.6 by the U.S. Geological Survey) — struck offshore of Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan around 11:15 p.m. JST. The quake was deep enough (about 44 km) to be felt over a wide area, with intense shaking registering across northern Honshu and parts of Hokkaido.
🌊 Immediate Impact — Tsunami & Injuries
Tsunami Warnings were promptly issued along the Pacific coasts of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate. Authorities initially feared waves up to ~3 meters high, prompting evacuations. In the end, only small tsunami waves — up to about 70 cm — were observed, and all warnings were lifted by early Tuesday morning. At least 50 plus people have been injured, mostly lightly, due to falling objects and minor structural impacts from the shaking.
Across the affected prefectures, emergency crews continue damage assessments and are checking roads, buildings, utilities and other infrastructure for safety concerns. Some power outages and transport disruptions (train suspensions) were reported in the aftermath.
🧠 Rare “Megaquake Advisory” Issued
Japan’s meteorological authority, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), has issued a megaquake advisory following the M 7.5 quake — a rare alert indicating elevated seismic risk. This advisory:
Does not predict when (or if) a larger earthquake will occur. Signals that the probability of a more powerful quake (M 8.0+) has increased temporarily for the next several days or week. Specifically, a formerly tiny ~0.1% weekly chance has risen to roughly ~1 %. Applies along a long stretch of Japan’s Pacific coast — from Chiba Prefecture in the south up through Hokkaido in the north — where the Pacific tectonic plate is actively subducting beneath Japan.
Officials emphasize that this is an advisory, not a prediction, and it’s issued to encourage preparedness: securing furniture, reviewing evacuation plans, and keeping emergency kits ready.
🌏 Aftershocks and Continued Seismic Activity
Even after the main quake, strong aftershocks have been recorded in the region — including quakes in the magnitude 5–6 range. This ongoing activity is consistent with a typical aftershock sequence but reinforces the public safety message to stay alert.
Later smaller tremors — including a reported M 6.0 event — have been felt near Aomori and Hokkaido, though none have triggered additional tsunami warnings.
🛡 Government Response & Public Safety
The Japanese government has mobilized an emergency task force to:
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Assess damage and coordinate response efforts across affected regions. Monitor infrastructure — including roads, utilities, and nuclear facilities — for any damage or safety issues. Keep the public informed and ready for possible aftershocks or other quakes.
Schools, businesses and local municipalities continue to evaluate safety conditions and may adjust operations accordingly.
📌 What This Means for Residents & Visitors
✔ Immediate tsunami danger has passed, but vigilance is still needed due to aftershocks.
✔ Preparedness is crucial, especially in coastal and northern regions that felt the quake strongest.
✔ If you’re in Japan or planning travel, follow JMA updates and local government advisories for current regional guidance.
🧭 In Summary
Japan is dealing with the impacts of a major offshore earthquake that shook the northern Pacific coast and prompted widespread alerts. Although immediate tsunami threats were limited and damage appears relatively light so far, a rare megaquake advisory remains in effect — not as a definitive forecast, but as a cautionary alert to stay prepared in the coming days.
Despite this elevated alert level, experts stress that while seismic risk is higher than normal, a massive quake is not imminent and the advisory’s purpose is to keep people ready rather than alarmed.
Links open in a new tab. Please follow official JMA updates for real-time alerts.
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How China cleaned up its air pollution – and what that meant for the climate
How China cleaned up its air pollution: Beijing’s air quality went from hazardous to good while Delhi and Lahore still struggle. Discover how China dramatically reduced pollution since 2013—and why cleaner air may have unintended consequences for global warming and climate change.
Delhi: 442. Lahore: 334. Beijing: 16. These are the levels of PM 2.5, one of the principle measures for air pollution, on November 19. As Pakistanis and Indians struggle with hazardous air quality, in Beijing – a city once notorious for its smog – the air quality is currently rated as good. Ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government was so concerned about pollution that it introduced temporary restrictions on cars, shut down factories and stopped work on some construction sites. The measures worked and one study later found that levels of air pollution were down 30% during the period when the temporary Olympic restrictions were in place. It would take a few more years before the Chinese government implemented a clean air action plan in 2013. Since then, China has achieved a dramatic improvement in its air quality. In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to Laura Wilcox, a professor at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading in the UK, to understand how China managed to clean up its air pollution. But Wilcox’s recent research uncovered some unintended consequences from this cleaner air for the global climate: the pollution was actually helping to cool the atmosphere and by taking it away, it may have accelerated global warming. Wilcox explains:
What we’re seeing is a removing of cooling that’s revealing warming that’s already there. So the air pollution isn’t the cause of the warming. It’s just letting us see stuff that we’ve already done.
Dive into “The Knowledge,” where curiosity meets clarity. This playlist, in collaboration with STMDailyNews.com, is designed for viewers who value historical accuracy and insightful learning. Our short videos, ranging from 30 seconds to a minute and a half, make complex subjects easy to grasp in no time. Covering everything from historical events to contemporary processes and entertainment, “The Knowledge” bridges the past with the present. In a world where information is abundant yet often misused, our series aims to guide you through the noise, preserving vital knowledge and truths that shape our lives today. Perfect for curious minds eager to discover the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of everything around us. Subscribe and join in as we explore the facts that matter. https://stmdailynews.com/the-knowledge/
Gemma Ware, Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
