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Supply Chain Compromises

2024-09-18 17:56:32.836646+02 by Dan Lyke 2 comments

So yesterday, around 2,700 people were injured and 11 people were killed when pagers exploded across Lebanon: Hezbollah vows to punish Israel after pager explosions across Lebanon, 11 dead, thousands injured in explosive supply chain attack on Hezbollah pagers, and overnight it appears that walkie-talkies were also compromised: Hezbollah hand-held radios detonate across Lebanon, sources say.

Probably a fairly niche purchase, a couple of thousand pagers, but the notion that the supply chain could be this discretely compromised is interesting.

So there's a context into which to read this... Secure Boot-neutering PKfail debacle is more prevalent than anyone knew — Keys were marked "DO NOT TRUST." More devices than previously known used them anyway. ATMs, Point-of-sale terminals, voting machines...

Edit: Spencer Ackerman: A New Tactical Era of Supply-Chain Sabotage at Scale has some additional details and musings.

Edit 2: AP reports solar energy systems exploding, Via Slashdot.

[ related topics: Consumerism and advertising Shoes ]

comments in descending chronological order (reverse):

#Comment Re: Supply Chain Compromises made: 2024-09-20 05:52:04.065455+02 by: Definitely Not a Bot

Semi-interesting: https://lieber.westpoint.edu/exploding-pagers-law/

As much as I oppose Israeli policy, I have to admit this attack has a lot less collateral damage than bombing whole blocks. If it is not followed up by bombing whole blocks.

#Comment Re: Supply Chain Compromises made: 2024-09-18 23:40:44.952747+02 by: Dan Lyke

Reuters reports that the radios that exploded are the ICOM ICV82 144MHz handhelds, "were purchased by Hezbollah five months ago", and were discontinued in 2014. Amateur Radio forum post from 2012 saying they were discontinued.

So any mass purchase of these would have presumably happened on the secondary market.