Comment by koolba

Comment by koolba 3 days ago

15 replies

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> Hack the backend server, send a coordinated page to all the pagers at the same time.

You likely don’t even need to hack anything if you coordinate based on time. A built in clock would eliminate the need for any external signal and work in a, no pun intended, dead zone.

If the pager itself is hacked, the software could also pretend to receive a page a moment before detonation to maximize the chance the device is held with the receiver in the open.

bilinguliar 3 days ago

It most likely just received a code message that triggered the device.

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make3 3 days ago

if you physically control the pager I don't even think it's called hacking anymore. you can change the hardware and software willy nilly. put an extra SIM that you control in there, and call it. put a radio receiver. a timer. heck, a dog whistle audio detector, you blow it and they blow up. infinite possibilities.

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  • blantonl 3 days ago

    Pagers don't have SIMs, they are simply programmed with a "Cap Code" which is basically the address of the pager.

    Pagers can be programmed with multiple cap codes, and can function differently based on which cap code address receives a message. For instance, a single cap code could be programmed to just vibrate the pager, vs an audible alert.

    Pagers are sent out via very high power distributed transmitters as one way transmissions simulcasted transmissions.

    The format is typically:

    [CAP CODE] - Message

    That's literally it.

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  • CydeWeys 3 days ago

    I mean they probably did hack to some degree the default software/hardware in the pager to get it to do something nonstandard. I doubt they have access to the full source code and build stack of the OG pager, so even just modifying the software running on it to do something different is indeed a hack.

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ars 3 days ago

It wasn't time based. Videos show the pager making some kind of signal or message that caused the person holding it to look at it.

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  • anigbrowl 3 days ago

    That doesn't follow. You could have a timer that causes the pager to vibrate as if it had received a message or an alarm had rung. That would make the attack simpler, in that one wouldn't also have to compromise (or risk leaving traces in) the phone system to activate thousands of pagers.

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    • blantonl 3 days ago

      Pagers just simply have an address (called a Cap Code) to receive messages. It's like a mailbox number. A pager can be programmed with usually up to 4 Cap Codes at a time.

      If I was speculating on what happened, I would bet that the pager had 3 Cap Code addresses programmed, the mailbox cap code the owner of the pager expected to have for receiving messages, a cap code that was the same programmed in all the pagers to that functioned normally to received messages, and then the 3rd cap code programmed in all the pagers that when receiving a specific message triggered the explosive.

      The folks responsible simply sent a message to the 2nd cap code to get all the pagers to go off, presumably to get the targets to get the pagers out and look at them, and then immediately the trigger message next to the 3rd cap code to detonate the explosive.

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    • rocqua 3 days ago

      I'd imagine a backup timer, with the ability to trigger early if required for strategic or tactical purposes.

      I almost surprised this wasn't coordinated with (or saved for) an incursion into Libanon. That seems to be something Israel wants to do, and this would be a great way to disrupt the defense at the most critical moment.

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      • ars 3 days ago

        A timer is too risky. The was done months in advance - what if the war was over?

        I think this was meant for intelligence gathering - now that they know who the important operatives are, you go backwards using video and see where they went and who they talked to.

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        • throwaway81523 3 days ago

          Seems easier to install a transmitter and GPS in the supposedly receive-only device. Then it could actually track people and show where they had been. It could store up readings and only transmit while the device was in motion at around walking speed, with signal strength above Y. That means the person was probably outdoors and moving, thus probably ot being swept by bug detectors. Well maybe not any more, now that everyone is thinking that way ;).

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      • anigbrowl 2 days ago

        Oh I think it's absolutely preparation for an incursion, as are today's follow-up attacks.

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  • koolba 3 days ago

    I’m saying even that could be time based to ensure it does not depend on the signal being received. Just pretend you got a message and add a delay of a couple seconds.

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    • ars 3 days ago

      It could be, but it would be very risky. These pagers would have been distributed months in advance. How could you possibly know the perfect time to set them off?

      And since pagers are already receiving remote messages, it doesn't make sense to do it any other way.

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