Hacker explains: Why are electronics exploding in Lebanon?

Summary

The video discusses a sophisticated supply chain attack in Lebanon, where devices like pagers and walkie-talkies from a company called Apollo Gold exploded. The devices were part of a military switch to older electronics to avoid tracking. The explosions were likely caused by software triggering the devices to overheat their batteries, creating a targeted detonation. This incident highlights the risks of supply chain infiltration in electronics manufacturing, raising concerns about national security and the potential for similar attacks on other devices globally.

Takeaways

• 🤖 Several friends reached out with concerns about electronics after reports of exploding devices in Lebanon.
• 📟 The incident involved pagers, walkie-talkies, and other devices, especially those made by a company called Apollo Gold.
• 📡 Apollo Gold licenses its pager design to other manufacturers, allowing modifications that could have led to the explosions.
• ⚠️ Initial speculation involved possible infiltration of Apollo Gold's warehouse, but it's now believed to be a sophisticated supply chain attack.
• 💥 The explosions were targeted and caused by a software signal sent to the devices, not random battery malfunctions.
• 🔋 The explosions seem to have been triggered by a combination of modified firmware and the device's battery, likely causing thermal runaway.
• 💻 The attack showcased a high level of expertise in electronics, manufacturing, and software, with precise timing and targeted detonations.
• ✈️ Questions remain about how these devices passed through international travel undetected during the six-month period before they exploded.
• 🔎 The situation highlights the risks of supply chain vulnerabilities and the potential for national security concerns with compromised electronics.
• 📢 Additional reports suggest that other types of devices, such as walkie-talkies, also exploded, and the investigation is ongoing.

Q & A

What is the main concern the speaker is addressing in the video?

The speaker is addressing concerns about a series of explosions involving electronic devices, such as pagers and walkie-talkies, in Lebanon. These devices were part of a sophisticated supply chain attack, raising questions about the safety of other electronics like cell phones or laptops.

Why are pagers still being used, and why did a military organization switch back to them?

Pagers are still used because they are receive-only devices, which makes them harder to track compared to cell phones. The military organization wanted to reduce the risk of being tracked by using older technology that is less vulnerable to constant network updates.

What is the company Apollo Gold’s role in the situation?

Apollo Gold is a company that manufactures pagers, and they license their designs to other companies. This licensing allowed other manufacturers to produce their devices, which were involved in the explosion incidents. Speculation suggests that a supply chain attack may have compromised these devices.

How did the attackers exploit the supply chain in this case?

The attackers legally obtained the design of the devices through licensing, then modified the electronics, potentially adding explosive materials or altering software to cause the devices to explode after a certain time, possibly triggered by a signal.

What is the difference between typical lithium battery failures and the explosions observed in this case?

Typical lithium battery failures can result in fires or overheating, but they don't cause explosions that create blast waves and shrapnel. In this case, the explosions were more sophisticated, indicating the use of additional explosive materials or intentional design modifications.

Can other consumer electronics like cell phones or toasters explode in the same way?

No, it is highly unlikely that consumer electronics such as cell phones or toasters could explode in the same way unless they were compromised in the supply chain like the pagers and walkie-talkies involved in this incident. The explosions were part of a targeted attack.

How were the devices in Lebanon targeted specifically?

The devices in Lebanon were targeted by a signal that was transmitted to the affected devices, triggering the explosions. This suggests that the attack was sophisticated and aimed only at specific devices, rather than all devices sold.

What makes this supply chain attack particularly sophisticated?

This attack combined expertise in multiple fields, including electronics manufacturing, software manipulation, and chemistry. The attackers were able to create fully functional devices that worked normally for several months before causing a timed explosion.

Why hasn’t international air travel detected these compromised devices?

It’s unclear why international air travel screenings didn’t detect these compromised devices. The speaker speculates that the devices might have been designed to evade such detection or that none of the compromised devices were exposed to the conditions that might have uncovered the plot.

What impact could this attack have on global supply chains?

This attack will likely cause countries and companies to re-examine their supply chains as a matter of national security. It highlights the vulnerability of electronics to supply chain attacks and may lead to increased scrutiny and security measures in manufacturing processes.

Outlines

00:00

📱 Concerns About Exploding Devices in Lebanon

The speaker shares that many friends have asked about recent electronic device explosions in Lebanon, with concerns about their own gadgets like cell phones or toasters. The speaker explains that they will address these questions, specifically about pagers, walkie-talkies, and other devices affected in Lebanon. They share that they were tagged in a post on Mastodon, where the news first surfaced, and they encourage others to reach out via this platform for stories or tips. They hint at how widespread this issue is, with a developing story involving a company called Apollo Gold, known for making rugged pagers.

05:00

💥 Supply Chain Attack and Exploding Pagers

The speaker discusses the explosion of pagers produced by Apollo Gold, a company that licenses the manufacturing of their pagers to other companies. Speculation initially suggested a physical infiltration, but evidence now points to a sophisticated supply chain attack. The speaker, an experienced electronics manufacturer, explains how the attack leveraged access to manufacturing designs and speculates on how modifications to the device's circuitry or battery could have led to the explosions. This attack shows the vulnerability in licensing and supply chains, where seemingly legitimate devices can be modified to cause targeted damage.

10:01

🔋 Battery Explosions: Not Just Overheating

Contrary to theories of lithium battery overheating, the speaker clarifies that these explosions involved a detonation-like force, not simply battery fires. They share personal insights into electronics and battery failures, emphasizing that regular batteries don't cause explosions with shrapnel like the ones seen here. The speaker assures that common household devices aren’t likely to be compromised in the same way and notes the complexity of this particular attack, which combined software manipulation, chemistry, and electronics knowledge to cause the timed explosions.

📡 Walkie-Talkies and Additional Explosions

The speaker highlights further explosions involving walkie-talkies and other electronic devices, which have caused casualties. They point out that the walkie-talkie batteries appear to have been modified similarly to the pagers. They emphasize that the attack was highly sophisticated, involving detailed knowledge of supply chains, licensing, and technology to produce devices that functioned as expected for months before exploding. They question how these devices passed through air travel and other security measures undetected, highlighting the global implications for supply chain security.

🎯 Targeted Attacks and Remote Triggers

The speaker delves into the precision of the attack, explaining that only specific devices were targeted using a signal or error message that triggered the explosions. They discuss how the attack’s complexity involved hardware and software manipulation, leaving the world’s electronics and security experts in shock. The speaker reflects on the broader implications for national security, predicting that this event will push countries to scrutinize their supply chains more closely. They conclude with the understanding that the targeted nature of the attack and its ability to evade detection for so long makes this a unique and alarming case.

Keywords

💡Supply Chain Attack

A supply chain attack occurs when a malicious actor infiltrates a supply network to compromise products before they reach end users. In the video, the speaker explains that the exploding devices in Lebanon were the result of a sophisticated supply chain attack, where modifications were made to legally licensed electronics. This emphasizes the vulnerability in electronic manufacturing processes, where products can be tampered with during production.

💡Electronics Licensing

Licensing in electronics allows a company to legally manufacture and sell a product designed by another company. In the video, the pagers were produced under license by third-party manufacturers, which made it possible for attackers to introduce modifications, leading to the malfunction and explosions of these devices. This showcases how licensing agreements can be exploited in supply chain attacks.

💡Lithium Battery

Lithium batteries are commonly used in electronics due to their energy density and rechargeable properties. In the video, the speaker clarifies that while lithium batteries can overheat and cause fires, they generally do not detonate with the same intensity as seen in the exploding devices in Lebanon. This distinction highlights that the explosions were not typical battery malfunctions, but part of a larger, deliberate attack.

💡Thermal Runaway

Thermal runaway is a failure mode where an increase in temperature causes further heat generation, often leading to fires or explosions in batteries. In the video, the speaker speculates that the pagers and walkie-talkies involved in the incident may have been altered to trigger thermal runaway, causing their batteries to overheat and explode at a specific time. This concept is critical to understanding the nature of the attacks.

💡Printed Circuit Board (PCB)

A printed circuit board (PCB) mechanically supports and electrically connects electronic components. The speaker in the video, who is experienced in electronics manufacturing, suggests that the modified PCBs in the affected devices might have been a key element of the supply chain attack. PCBs were likely altered to include explosive elements or to facilitate the triggering of the explosions.

💡Firmware

Firmware is the software embedded into a hardware device to control its functions. In the video, the speaker discusses the possibility that the firmware of the radios and pagers was modified, allowing them to receive a signal or message that triggered the explosions. This highlights how firmware modifications can turn benign devices into dangerous tools when exploited maliciously.

💡Blast Wave

A blast wave refers to the pressure and energy generated by an explosion, which can cause significant damage. The speaker mentions that the exploding pagers and walkie-talkies produced blast waves, resulting in shrapnel and physical harm, indicating that the devices were designed to act as bombs. This underlines the dangerous and intentional nature of the attack.

💡Shrapnel

Shrapnel refers to fragments from an explosion that can cause damage or injury. In the video, the speaker describes the presence of shrapnel from the exploding devices in Lebanon, differentiating it from typical battery malfunctions. This detail emphasizes that the devices were intentionally designed to cause harm beyond just overheating or fire.

💡Pagers

Pagers are communication devices that receive messages and are often used in environments where privacy and tracking concerns exist. The video highlights that pagers were chosen by a military organization in Lebanon to avoid location tracking associated with modern smartphones. These pagers were part of the devices targeted in the supply chain attack, demonstrating how even outdated technology can be exploited in modern cyber warfare.

💡Targeted Explosions

Targeted explosions refer to devices that are designed to explode in specific circumstances or locations. In the video, the speaker reveals that the devices involved in the Lebanon incident only exploded in that country, triggered by a signal or message. This demonstrates a level of control and precision in the attack, indicating that it was highly targeted and sophisticated.

Highlights

Friends asked if they need to worry about their electronics, such as cell phones or laptops, due to the ongoing situation.

The developing story involves electronic devices like pagers and walkie-talkies exploding specifically in Lebanon.

The issue appears to be related to a company called Apollo Gold, which manufactures pagers used by a military organization that wanted less trackable devices.

Apollo Gold licenses its designs for others to manufacture, which has led to speculations of supply chain attacks.

Early speculation about infiltrations in the company's warehouse has shifted towards a sophisticated supply chain attack.

The supply chain attack appears to involve inserting technology that allows devices to explode at a later time.

While lithium batteries can overheat and catch fire, the detonations seen in this situation involve additional materials and modifications.

The attack targeted specific devices, suggesting that they were remotely triggered through a software command.

The design allowed the devices to function normally for several months before the coordinated explosions.

There was no evidence of this issue affecting consumer electronics like cell phones or toasters.

This is considered a highly sophisticated infiltration of the electronic supply chain involving software, hardware, and chemistry expertise.

The possibility of more global incidents of supply chain attacks is raised, with concerns about National Security implications.

The event will likely lead to an increased focus on securing electronic supply chains to prevent similar attacks.

The walkie-talkie explosions appear to be caused by modifications to the battery unit, which was likely triggered by firmware changes.

The entire attack is believed to involve transmitting an error message that activated the detonations only in specific devices.

Transcripts

several of my friends have reached out

to me and said hey you work with

electronics pretty often I know that

you've done some manufacturing uh what

exactly happened here like do I need to

be worried about my cell phone or my

toaster or my laptop or what really is

going on uh so today I'm going to take

some questions in regards to the ongoing

situation with pagers walkie-talkies and

other devices all specifically within

the country of Lebanon so uh yeah pretty

crazy developing story I'm going to go

ahead and put this on the screen just

because uh it was the thing that I was

tagged in most often also I wanted to

shout out uh anybody who wants to kind

of share a story with me or get

something to talk about on the stream uh

you can do that on my Mastadon account

so I left Twitter a while ago just

because um you know like things were

were I think it was oh yeah December

2022 uh if you want to tag me on a story

you can always go to infos sec. exchange

uh uh I am right here and this is how I

originally found out about the story I

was tagged really early and uh yeah so

uh thank you to uh tag hunt for tagging

me on the story uh the second that I saw

it I knew that we were going to discuss

it today so yeah if you got a tip if you

got something you want to talk about on

the stream probably the fastest way is

tagging me there but of course I'm also

going to go through our YouTube comments

this week as well so oh also good to see

everybody on the stream James uh SAQ uh

a cat uh we are early here but already

have some interesting stuff to cover so

all right again let me pull up the story

so it appears that yesterday um a number

of electronic devices exploded so this

was actually the one from today we also

have where's the first story here we go

um a bunch of uh pagers exploding

yesterday here we go uh all traced to a

company called Apollo gold so a while

ago this military organization had

decided that cell phones were too

vulnerable to being tracked so they

wanted to switch over to something that

was like receive only and kind of went

backwards towards uh electronics that

haven't been used at least for uh for me

anyway uh for a very long time so I

haven't seen a pager functional in a

while uh except for on like maybe

medical professionals or things like

that but uh these pagers are still in

use and in particular they allow you to

just receive instead of be connected to

Network and then constantly update your

location maybe it makes you a little

harder to track I don't really totally

understand the the decision to to go

back to using pagers and why it offered

so many specific benefits but that was

the decision so there is a company uh

called apoll gold that makes these pages

that are very popular they're rugged

they they work well uh but they also

license the ability to manufacture their

product to other companies so if you're

a company that has x amount of money you

can set yourself up and make it so that

you have all the necessary uh files and

everything to manufacture this product

and sell it for yourself if you wanted

to make a small modification like

possibly modifying the battery or other

elements of the circuit board or even

the programming then that might be in

violation of your terms of license but

it would be completely uh something that

you could do because once you license a

design like this you're kind of setting

yourself to be up uh to be able to

manufacture it yourself provided you

abide by the terms of that licensing so

what it looks like here is early

speculation was like oh somebody snuck

into this company's warehouse and

switched everything but it looks like

the reality was much more of a supply

chain attack so this is again I am uh a

Electronics person that manufactures uh

printed circuit boards and functional

Electronics with a team of people who

are much more experienced than myself uh

fairly regularly so when it comes to my

experience with uh Electronic Supply

chains and Licensing and that sort of

thing like I I worked around this enough

to to kind of see how clever this was

when it comes to having access to a

design all the schematics everything you

would need and then being able to

manufacture it legally uh at least at

first when when it's not exploding uh in

a way that is very very difficult to

trace the electronic supply chain is

very muddy there's a lot of kind of the

white label manufacturers well where

maybe they have a factory and they'll

gain the right to create a certain

product but they're not the original

manufacturer so that that appears to be

what happened here when it comes to the

first wave of devices where originally

people were suspicious maybe this

company had been infiltrated but it

seemed like they were merely licensing

their products so is it likely that your

cell phone or toaster or whatever is

going to explode no because it looks

like a highly sophisticated infiltration

of a supply chain that allowed uh the

perpetrators here to be able to uh put

out a device that functions normally and

then at a predetermined time received

software instructions to uh rapidly heat

the battery and cause a second element

to explode now it uh it's kind of

difficult to say exactly what was done

here like was the material in the print

circuit board uh perhaps like combined

with something that was explosive like

was there an element added to the

battery that uh was explosive like and

maybe more efficient battery material

was used in a in a smaller area it's not

really known here but what is known is

that this was not just lithium battery

overheating I saw some people saying

like you know any device could be uh

theoretically caused to do this and that

is absolutely not the case so that's the

number one thing I wanted to to spell

I've seen a lot of uh examples uh let's

say of lithium batteries overheating

exploding um shorting out you name it

I've made a lot of mistakes in

electronics and for example some of the

batteries around like ebikes or like

scooters are huge and if you make a

mistake with them um a lot of energy

will shoot out it's very energy dense it

causes a fire but they don't exactly

explode um a lot of energy is released

very quickly they burn very fast but

it's not a detonation and what I saw in

a lot of the videos here was definitely

a detonation uh a material that was

exploding so fast that it was causing

damage through a blast wave and shrapnel

that is not something that just happens

with a regular battery so uh unless your

specific device was compromised at this

Source it is not capable of uh exploding

the way that we've seen in some of these

videos so like some people who reached

out to me in uh you know my friends were

uh just curious like is it possible to

hack a device so hard that it just

explodes in this way and while it is

possible to cause a fire and it is

possible to maybe like you know burn

like burn someone or uh cause damage

it's certainly not possible to turn it

into a device that throws that much

shrapnel at least the way that we're

seeing in this case so absolutely the

wildest news I've seen probably in in

five years I think like of of uh just

covering like security news and uh just

keeping an eye on this like this is a

incredibly sophisticated supply chain

attack that took advantage of Licensing

it took advantage of software knoow it

took advantage of chemistry knowhow and

it also took advantage of uh electronics

and Manufacturing knowhow so being able

to produce a commercial copy of

something and add new technology to it

seal it have it operate for six months

and then in a targeted fashion have it

uh explode only in a single country um I

mean and I don't think anyone's said

this but did nobody who owned one of

these devices fly like in that period of

time anywhere uh or what sort of

screening did this have to pass through

in order for it to remain undetected for

six months like you would think that

International Air Travel like might have

ruined that whole surprise but anyway

like what I guess my my number one

reaction all of this is how many other

completely unrelated actors on like on

other stages around the world were

planning some sort of reveal that

involved an exploding device whose

millions of dollars of work is now

ruined by this event because people are

going to of course like you know I think

most countries are gonna be like all

right wow we really need need to examine

this and probably discover other

potentially unrelated plots to insert

similar things into Supply chains as a

result so really stunning that this is

going to make people read examine Supply

chains in a crucial way and see it as an

issue of National Security never again U

never again will uh we be ignorant to

the possibility that a well infiltrated

supply chain can have incredibly serious

consequences so like you know normally

this would be like oh no somebody put a

spy chip by you know creating commercial

copies this is not a spy chip this is an

explody box uh that was added instead so

um truly a stunning attack obviously

that's why I was tagged in it so often

like I I appreciate the complexity of

this you have to have modifications to

the original software or at least

something that's able to cause what

seems like a thermal runaway with a

battery that heats like a a secondary or

something that's uh very sensitive to a

particular temperature to then go off

and Trigger the rest of the explosive um

there's a lot of speculatory information

out there so uh just try to stick to the

facts on this one um but yeah uh some

pretty crazy stuff coming out today and

just wanted to calm anyone's who for one

is maybe like pushing their Electronics

to the side worrying if like any LiPo

battery could do this no it does not

look like that is the case um this is

truly like on the sucket level of crazy

uh targeted attacks when it comes to

electronics software infiltration

Hardware infiltration you name it um

this is quite an interesting developing

story so I'm sure a lot of people in the

electronic uh electronics world world

are going to be talking about this uh

people in the ha world are definitely

talking about this uh and it's a story

you're probably going to see continuing

to pop up as the story develop now the

fact that additional devices exploded

today is something that I haven't even

covered yet so uh today I saw several

videos uh showing Walky talkies also

exploding and it was mentioned that

other quote other electronic devices

were also uh exploding so these uh seem

to be a bit more deadly in terms of

actually like causing casualties from

what was reported Ed but if you look at

some of these photos it very much and

from having owned radios like this it

very much looks like the battery unit is

what exploded here the battery unit

Clips onto the back of these sorts of

radios I've used them when I was a

security guard uh and not this exact

model but other Motorola radios and when

the battery is clipped out in the back

here there's a very large battery unit

that is attached right here um that also

communicates with the rest of the device

through a little bust so it is possible

if the firmware was modified on these

that a signal from uh the radio could

cause the battery to heat up and then

possibly explode so kind of seeing a

pattern developing here uh but we will

have to see if there's any more

information or details about this uh

later in the day for now that's really

all the information we have and again it

does seem like this is something that

has to do with the electronic supply

chain um legally licensing some of these

designs and then producing copies um

which again requires a stunning amount

of technolog know how to make sure that

you're creating functional devices that

are getting no complaints that operate

as intended but also include new

technology that's able to uh you know

survive potentially getting left in a

hot car flying on an airplane or other

sorts of things that would like uncover

uh other attempts to do this sort of

thing so really gonna gonna have to have

a lot of these questions answered before

we know all the information but yes

thank you all for tagging me in this um

as an Electronics person I was talking

with this with some of my uh talking

with some of my colleagues about this

last night just about uh how

sophisticated of an attack this was and

how uh targeted at the same time it was

some people were also calling this an

incredibly uh targeted uh strike in that

it only went after specific devices so

uh that means that there was a signal or

a message that caused an

error I think it was CNN that was

reporting that there was an error

message that was transmitted to all the

devices that uh attempted to explode uh

so the fact that this was targeted

against specific devices uh it wasn't

like every device uh that was sold all

exploded at the same time it was

actually a message that was sent to the

device that caused it to uh go off so

yeah uh lot to absorb today um I've

spent uh several hours kind of trying to

keep up with what's going on looking at

photos uh chatting with other people

that are uh kind of interested in it and

uh yeah it's been a lot