Understanding the Risks of Lithium-Ion Batteries After Lebanon's Pager Incident
On September 18, a strange and tragic event occurred in Lebanon when hundreds of pagers, reportedly linked to the militant group Hezbollah, exploded all at once across the country. This incident resulted in the deaths of at least nine people and injured over 3,000 others. One video shows a man shopping at a grocery store when his pager exploded, knocking him to the ground as others ran in fear. This has led to questions about what caused the explosions, with early theories suggesting battery overheating. This raises a troubling question: could smartphones also be turned into bombs? Can Hackers Turn Your Phone into a Bomb? Smartphones are everywhere and rely on lithium-ion batteries, so the idea of them being used in a similar way can’t be ignored. However, making this happen is much more complex. Hezbollah uses pagers because they are considered more secure against surveillance, especially from Israeli intelligence. Pagers are simpler devices and harder to track than smartphones....