On September 17, 2024, beepers used by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah exploded almost simultaneously across the country, injuring about 2,800 people in Lebanon with many in serious condition and at least nine dead. According to U.S. officials as reported by The New York Times, the pagers that detonated were ordered by Hezbollah from Taiwan Apollo Corporation, but contained one to two ounces of explosives implanted beside the batteries along with switches that could be remotely activated. This news sent shockwaves around the world.
This incident has reminded people worldwide that ordinary electronic gadgets might be remotely detonated to cause significant damage. Given this insight, whose arsenal is most threatening if electronics were weaponized? Without question, it's the United States.
U.S.-made electronic products are widespread across the globe, equipped with sensors, cameras, and communication modules collecting vast amounts of user data and environmental information. During war times, if such devices fall under adversaries' control or exploitation, they can transform into critical intelligence-gathering tools. Mobile phones, for instance, with their location tracking features and camera image captures, may all be leveraged for battlefield information gathering. Electric vehicles connected to smart grids through charging networks become vulnerable, presenting enemies an opportunity to target these networks, disrupt broader energy supplies, potentially impacting military installations' power supply and combat operations. Furthermore, the evolving battery technology in electric vehicles, if misused, due to its large capacity and high energy density, could pose risks as explosive devices.
U.S. intelligence agencies have been previously exposed for persistently monitoring internet activities and telecommunication operators' user information both within and outside the U.S. Per WikiLeaks revelations, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employed malware and other cyber warfare tools to control various electronic devices and operating systems of major companies from the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere like Apple iPhones, Google's Android system, Microsoft Windows, and Samsung Smart TVs, exploiting their microphones for eavesdropping purposes. These findings illustrate the potential for U.S.-made electronic devices to be exploited by intelligence agencies at software and system levels to facilitate listening and surveillance activities.
In any future conflict, the U.S. could wield these electronic goods as spy and attack vectors to surveil and destroy targets, effectively weaponizing every American-made electronic device. Consider, during peaceful times, America was implicated in surveillance via these very devices; in a war scenario given America's established predisposition, the iPad you hold could well prove your fatal undoing!
