As many as nine people, including a child, were killed after handheld pagers exploded across Lebanon.
There are no official reports of why this incident happened and what was the trigger behind it.
Pagers are still quite outdated while everyone around us has and uses a phone.
As many as nine people, including a child, were killed after handheld pagers used by members of the armed group Hezbollah to communicate exploded across Lebanon. The event took place early in the day today. Apart from the deaths, the pagers have injured over 2,750 people.
Although there are no official reports of why this incident happened and what was the trigger behind it, media reports suggest that owing to the current situation, there is a possibility that the Hezbollah pagers were heavily tampered with on the hardware front. This triggered the explosion.
On the other hand, other theories suggest that there must have been a cybersecurity breach that led to overheating and the resulting blast. The incident has raised concerns about how secure the devices that we use are.
If the pagers can be hacked and made to explode, can the same be done with phones? Because pagers are still quite outdated while everyone around us has and uses a phone. There is no clear answer to this.
Can your smartphone be made to explode?
The main cause of concern is lithium-ion batteries, which are used in both pagers as well as smartphones that we use. A former British Army bomb disposal officer told AP that any explosive device contains mostly five main components. These are a container, battery, triggering device, detonator, and explosive charge. Out of these, a pager already has three. To make these explode one would only need a detonator and charge.
And that’s not possible unless and until someone heavily tampers with your device. Hence, you should not be worried about your smartphones blowing up. In fact, the explosion in Lebanon is also quite unusual and rare. So yes, your smartphone will not blow up as easily.
To be on the safer side, just ensure that your device is not left unattended for long.
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Mustafa Khan
Mustafa is new on the block and is a tech geek who is currently working with Digit as a News Writer. He tests the new gadgets that come on board and writes for the news desk. He has found his way with words and you can count on him when in need of tech advice. No judgement. He is based out of Delhi, he’s your person for good photos, good food recommendations, and to know about anything GenZ. View Full Profile
