Tech Warfare: The Tactical Exploitation of Pagers and Walkie-Talkies in Combat

This paper examines recent attacks involving the explosion of modified pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, which resulted in significant casualties. The attack is suspected to have been carried out by a state-sponsored group (Advanced Persistent Threat, APT) either by tampering with the devices during the manufacturing process or by exploiting supply chain vulnerabilities rather than by directly hacking them. This study conducted a detailed analysis of device functionality, possible mechanism of exploitation, and proposed mitigation measures to avoid such types of attacks in the future. This research disproves the concept of the detonation of these devices through technical hacking, while emphasizing the critical role of tamper-free manufacturing and supply chain security in critical communication systems.