Hezbollah’s Pager Explosions Reveal Severe Supply Chain Infiltration Risks

• Hundreds of pagers throughout Lebanon were detonated on Tuesday.
• An attack of this scale likely required months of planning, an arms expert told BI.
• The attack also shows a lack of oversight of global supply chains, experts said.

A series of coordinated attacks struck Lebanon on Tuesday, resulting in the simultaneous detonation of hundreds of pagers used by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. This incident is regarded as a highly sophisticated operation that likely necessitated extensive planning and a breach of global supply chain security, according to experts.

Reports indicate that at least 2,800 individuals sustained injuries and at least 12 people lost their lives during the attacks. The initial explosions of the pagers occurred late Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday, a more focused attack involving walkie-talkies and solar devices led to further casualties, resulting in hundreds more injuries and at least 20 additional fatalities.

While Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for the incident, various U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, suggested that Israel was behind the operation. They indicated that Israeli operatives had infiltrated a shipment of Taiwanese-branded pagers to plant explosives within the devices.

Responses from the Israel Defense Forces and the U.S. Department of Defense regarding this matter have not been available at this time.

Experts on national security assert that orchestrating an attack of this magnitude requires advanced technical capabilities, comprehensive intelligence gathering, and a prolonged planning period. N.R. Jenzen-Jones, a director at Armament Research Services, stated that “the scale of this operation suggests a complex supply-chain attack executed by a state actor,” noting the substantial investments in manpower and resources needed for such an endeavor.

If Israel was indeed responsible, it would not be surprising given the country’s established reputation for technological proficiency. Sean McFate, a national security expert at Syracuse University, highlighted Israel’s capabilities, referring to its “tech-savvy state” and terms like “Wadi Valley” associated with its proficiency in technology.

The attack has raised alarms about vulnerabilities inherent in global supply chains, which often go unnoticed and can be exploited for tactical advantages in warfare. Robert Khachatryan, CEO of Freight Right Global Logistics, emphasized that the inclusion of explosives in the pagers before they reached Hezbollah illustrates the difficulties involved in ensuring secure electronic sourcing, especially concerning international shipments.

Images circulating online suggest that the pagers utilized in the attack were marked with branding from a Taiwanese company called Gold Apollo. Gold Apollo has stated through a release that a firm based in Hungary, known as BAC Consulting, was authorized to use its branding, asserting that BAC was solely responsible for the design and manufacturing of the products.

Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono, the CEO of BAC, has denied that her company produced the pagers, claiming instead that she served only as an intermediary. Efforts to reach Gold Apollo for further comment were met with no response. Meanwhile, Business Insider was unable to obtain a comment from BAC Consulting, as the company’s website appeared to be offline as of Wednesday evening.

While supply chain attacks are regularly discussed in the context of cybersecurity, Jenzen-Jones reminded that targeting enemy supply lines is a historically recognized tactic in warfare. He noted a precedent dating back to 2012, when it was reported that the U.S. was involved in a covert operation aimed at booby-trapping ammunition intended for use by the Taliban.

The unique aspect of the recent attack, according to Jenzen-Jones, lies in its scale and the choice of everyday objects, such as pagers, rather than traditional weaponry. “For an attack of this sort—one using modified everyday objects to deliver potentially lethal effects in a targeted fashion—the scale of the operation is unprecedented,” he remarked.

Source: Business Insider