David Vance SubstackRead More
There’s been a lot of media coverage over those exploding pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon that have specifically targeted members of the Hezbollah terrorist group. At one level I find it audacious and deeply satisfying that these terrorists get their overdue just rewards but at another I worry at how everyday tech can be weaponised against us.
The precise nature of HOW the tech in the hands and pockets of Hezbollah exploded is a bit murky but it’s suggested that Israeli special forces somehow intercepted the pagers and inserted military grade explosives in them which were then triggered via the sending of an alphanumeric code. Result…boom!
Thousands of Hezbollah terrorists were injured, some losing limbs. A few were killed outright. At every level this was an audacious act and it has inflicted targeted damage on this vicious terrorist group. The precision targeting involved is of historic dimensions and it contrasts with Hezbollah’s random rocketing of northern Israel. The scale of the targeting is catastrophic I would have thought for Hezbollah this is an unrecoverable blow regardless of Iranian backing. Naturally all their media apologists come huffing and puffing about this “outrage” but I think on balance they got what they deserve and I have zero sympathy.
HOWEVER, could tech be weaponised against any of us? That iPhone sitting beside you, that laptop on your desk, those AirPods in your ears….is it possible that such innocuous devices could actually kill us? I think the answer is that they probably could if “someone” wanted it and so this sets a worrying precedent in that regard. In Lebanon today, certain individuals fear the tech around them. Could we end up in a similar situation if other bad actors – let’s say with three letter names – decided to target us?
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