After Lebanon Blast, Will the East Build Independent Communication Networks to Break Western Dominance?

Two major coordinated attacks struck Lebanon on September 17 and 18, 2024, marking the latest instances of sabotage involving electronic communication devices, specifically Taiwan’s Pager and Japan’s ICOM.

The attacks resulted in the deaths of 32 Lebanese, including children, and left at least 3,250 others injured, primarily members of Hezbollah and their families, along with the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon.

Observers have reported that Israeli forces infiltrated the supply chain of the Taiwanese company, tampering with Pager devices or replacing them with explosives-laden units equipped with detonators before they arrived in Lebanon.

ICOM devices produced by a Japanese-American partnership were compromised, leading to the detonation of their wireless units in Lebanon. Reports also indicated the presence of an American electronic surveillance aircraft in Lebanese airspace before the explosions.

These incidents have once again raised concerns about the risks associated with reliance on Western communication devices and their potential use for espionage or assassination.

Calls have intensified for the development of independent communication solutions, free from Western systems, which have proven susceptible to Israeli infiltration as demonstrated in Lebanon.

Independent Systems

The Israeli targeting of communication devices used by Hezbollah and Lebanese civilians—specifically Pager and ICOM—highlight the pressing necessity for Arab and Islamic nations to develop independent communication systems, distinct from the Western technologies acquired from the U.S. and Europe. This situation serves as a clarion call for a shift towards more secure and self-reliant communication networks.

Concerns have long been raised about potential electronic manipulation of devices that could facilitate espionage against individuals and nations or be weaponized through precise guidance systems embedded within them.

The “Electronic Massacre in Lebanon” has reignited the discussion about the necessity of these independent communication networks, distinct from Western technologies.

Turkiye has already begun taking steps in this direction. On September 15, 2024, Selcuk Bayraktar, the technical director of Baykar, known for its renowned Bayraktar drones, announced plans to expand the company’s space program to include a global positioning system specific to Turkiye.

Just two days prior to the Pager explosions in Lebanon, Bayraktar stated, “They [the West] are infiltrating watches and phones, and having our own system is crucial for our sovereignty, and we will build it.”

Bayraktar's remarks were made during the TEKNOFEST youth technology competition held in central Turkiye on September 14, 2024, aimed at encouraging young innovators by testing rockets they designed.

Bayraktar's comments gained significant attention following the Israeli attack on Lebanon via wireless communication devices, highlighting the critical role of technological innovation in enhancing national security, independent of compromised Western devices used for espionage and violence.

Social media accounts have called for a shift away from Western communication tools in favor of “safer and more reliable” systems.

In this context, a Palestinian journalist residing in Gaza noted that while the region requires technological devices, particularly for communication or military purposes, both the resistance and the Gaza government have refrained from using any suspected compromised communication devices, instead seeking to invent alternatives.

He revealed to Al-Estiklal that the use of the “Mukhshir (מכשיר),” a wireless communication device with encrypted waves, has been discontinued for years due to suspicions of it being hacked. Instead, a centralized internal communication network has been established by the engineering unit of the Palestinian Resistance Movement.

The situation has escalated to the point where both governance and resistance in Gaza monitor every cable. If an individual attempts to use or tamper with a device, alerts are sent to the IT department for immediate investigation.

On September 16, 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported that the primitive encrypted messaging system is what keeps Hamas leadership alive.

The report confirmed that “Hamas’s top leader Yahya Sinwar could well be dead today if not for a low-tech communications system honed in prison that shields him from Israel’s intelligence-gathering dragnet.”

The Wall Street Journal said, “Sinwar has largely shunned phone calls, text messages, and other electronic communications that Israel can track and that have led to the demise of other militants.”

“Instead, he is using a complex system of couriers, codes, and handwritten notes that allows him to direct Hamas’s operations even while hiding in underground tunnels, according to Arab cease-fire mediators.”

How Was the Breach Executed?

According to Western reports, the devices used by Lebanese individuals, specifically Hezbollah members, were hacked after Israeli intelligence infiltrated products from two companies: a Taiwanese manufacturer of pager devices and a Japanese producer of ICOM (walkie-talkies).

It was revealed that Mossad established a shell company in Hungary, which gained access to the production and supply of devices from the original Thai company, Gold Apollo, embedding small quantities of explosives within them.

The same was done with ICOM, which hinted in a statement about the “impersonation” of its name on the devices that exploded in Lebanon. ICOM announced it is investigating the radios bearing its logo following the explosions.

“Earlier today in worldwide media, there have been reports that two-way radio devices bearing the ICOM logo have exploded in Lebanon. We are currently investigating the facts surrounding this matter,” the company said on its website. 

Gold Apollo stated that the communication devices that exploded simultaneously in the hands of Hezbollah members were made by its Hungarian partner, BAC, which was found to be coordinating with Mossad.

A source close to Hezbollah told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on September 17, 2024, that the Pager devices that exploded arrived via a shipment recently imported by Hezbollah, containing a thousand devices, which appear to have been hacked at the source.

American media, including The New York Times and CNN, confirmed that Tel Aviv replaced the batteries in the Pager devices with explosive ones before they reached Lebanon and then detonated them remotely.

The New York Times reported, citing an American source, that small quantities of explosives were hidden “within a new batch of Taiwanese-made pagers imported into Lebanon.”

CNN learned from its sources that the explosion of the Pager devices in Lebanon was carried out jointly by Mossad and the Israeli army.

It seems that “Israel” feared Hezbollah might have discovered the breach and decided to eliminate the devices.

Amos Yadlin, former head of Israeli military intelligence, believes the operation aimed to send a message to Hezbollah that it will pay a steep price if it continues its attacks on “Israel” instead of reaching an agreement.

He asserted that with negotiations regarding Gaza at an impasse, Israeli leadership felt compelled to take action against Hezbollah to convince it to cease linking its fate with Hamas.

A Complex Network

In 1999, reports indicated that a coalition of Western nations was extensively overhearing electronic communications worldwide through a complex network.

Western government agencies quickly denied these allegations; however, a European Commission investigation published a report confirming the existence of such a system.

The Echelon network, dubbed the Big Ear, is operated by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). It serves as a global data monitoring system, intercepting and transmitting information.

It was revealed that intelligence agencies run this network from five countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

According to the report prepared by the European Commission, Echelon can intercept and track over three billion communications daily, encompassing everything from regular and mobile phone calls to internet and satellite communications.

American reports indicate that the Echelon system collects all these communications indiscriminately, filtering and analyzing them using artificial intelligence to generate intelligence reports.

It has been revealed that intelligence agencies have installed massive antennas in various locations around the globe to intercept signals sent to and from satellites, as well as specialized sites for tracking terrestrial communications.

The New York Times reported that the assassination of Palestinian engineer Yahya Ayyash and the Palestine Liberation Organization representative in France, Mahmoud Hamshari, were among instances of breaches in communication devices.

These incidents are regarded by the intelligence community as “model success cases,” where phones and communication devices served critical purposes: monitoring and tracking targets, then using small explosives embedded within these devices to kill their users.

Mossad agents replaced the marble base of the phone used by Mahmoud Hamshari in his apartment in 1972, killing him under the pretext of being the mastermind behind the Munich massacre of 11 Israeli athletes, according to the Financial Times.

When Hamshari answered the phone, an Israeli group detonated the explosives packed inside the booby-trapped base remotely, causing him to lose a leg; he later succumbed to his injuries.

On January 5, 1996, Mossad assassinated Yahya Ayyash, the chief engineer of Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and a skilled bomb-maker who had eluded “Israel” for years, using a similar technical method.

A Motorola Alpha mobile phone was secretly provided to Ayyash through an Israeli agent. When Ayyash answered a call from his father, who was checking on him, Israeli forces detected the engineer's voiceprint and detonated the phone, which had been rigged with about 50 grams of explosives.

On January 11, 2021, Vice revealed that millions of Muslims are vulnerable to hacking, even through prayer timing applications.

It disclosed that the Muslim Pro app uses data from users of the Prayer First app for black market information trading.

The investigative website obtained a large dataset regarding user movements from a source that warned such information related to Muslim activities could be misused by those who purchase it.

Vice noted that the app was selling user location data to Predicio, “a French firm previously linked to a supply chain of data involving a U.S. government contractor that worked with ICE, Customs and Border Protection, and the FBI.”

The website also published another report on November 16, 2020, confirming that the U.S. military harvests vast amounts of data from the Muslim Pro app, which has been downloaded over 98 million times and is used by Muslims worldwide for prayer and Quran recitation.

The report indicated that this harvesting also occurs in other apps used by Muslims for job searches, casual ads, and even weather updates.

In this context, an Arab information security expert told Al-Estiklal that “Israel's infiltration of Pager and ICOM devices in Lebanon underscores the need for an independent Arab and Islamic communication system, as all devices are compromised and are used when necessary for killings.”

He explained that the incident highlights the ability of Hamas's Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades to prevent any Israeli infiltration, unlike Hezbollah and Iran, possibly due to the primitive encrypted methods devised by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during his imprisonment.

Communication Breaches as a Weapon

Israeli analysts have stated that the series of explosions targeting Hezbollah communication devices in Lebanon and Syria dealt a severe psychological blow to the group, enhancing Israeli deterrence capabilities.

However, they emphasized that while this operation did not lead to a fundamental strategic change in the region, it could pave the way for an open future confrontation.

Military analyst Ron Ben-Yishai from Yedioth Ahronoth noted on September 18 that the remote detonations of communication devices “revealed to Hezbollah just how easily they can be compromised, not only from an intelligence perspective but also digitally and technologically.”

He argued that “this integration of intelligence and digital infiltration constitutes a weapon in its own right, and both Hezbollah and its Iranian sponsors should be wary.”

Ben-Yishai added that while the explosions attributed to “Israel” enhance deterrence against Hezbollah and Iran and represent a significant psychological blow to the group, they do not signify a strategic shift that ensures the safe return of northern residents to their homes.

He quoted electronics experts who believe that the communication devices that exploded were being used to coordinate and time the launch of rockets and drones toward “Israel,” as well as to warn Hezbollah fighters of Israeli airstrikes.

Ronen Bergman, the intelligence affairs analyst at Yedioth Ahronoth, quoted a senior army officer saying, “The hacking of Hezbollah's communications, which left them in shock, fear, and humiliation, highlights the crucial role of communications in strengthening Israel's security.”