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Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Nordic Narcissism

There is something uniquely comical about a tiny, insulated European Scandinavian country like Norway lecturing a rich civilisation like India on morality. The latest specimen comes from Helle Lyng, a purported journalist from an obscure Oslo-based daily Dagsavisen, who interrupted a tightly choreographed bilateral media interaction during Narendra Modi’s visit to Norway to shout about India’s allegedly dismal human rights record and low press freedom index. It was crude theatre masquerading...

Nordic Narcissism

There is something uniquely comical about a tiny, insulated European Scandinavian country like Norway lecturing a rich civilisation like India on morality. The latest specimen comes from Helle Lyng, a purported journalist from an obscure Oslo-based daily Dagsavisen, who interrupted a tightly choreographed bilateral media interaction during Narendra Modi’s visit to Norway to shout about India’s allegedly dismal human rights record and low press freedom index. It was crude theatre masquerading as journalism. The Indian and Norwegian Prime Ministers were not scheduled to take questions to begin with. Yet Lyng behaved less like a reporter seeking answers than an activist seeking virality. Within hours, India’s Opposition ecosystem and professional Modi-baiters within Indian media elevated Lyng into a democratic Joan of Arc. Her social-media footprint, dormant for months, burst into life. Whether coordinated or merely opportunistic, the spectacle had all the subtlety of a pre-packaged outrage campaign. Then, Aftenposten, Norway’s largest broadsheet, went one better with a crude illustration straight from the attic of colonial caricature when it rendered Modi as a snake charmer beneath the sneering caption, “A sneaky and slightly annoying man.” This is no satire but a stale racial cliché embalmed in Scandinavian self-righteousness. The affair revealed not just the shallowness of a section of Norwegian journalism, but also the extraordinary moral vanity of modern northern Europe. Norway is a country of 5.6 million people whose most enduring contribution to the political lexicon remains the surname of Vidkun Quisling, the traitor whose collaboration with Adolf Hitler during the Nazi occupation of Norway was so notorious that “quisling” entered the English language as shorthand for traitor and collaborator. Yet, contemporary Norway today floats about the world dispensing ethical report cards to postcolonial democracies infinitely more diverse and politically complicated than anything it has ever governed. Norway’s moral vanity would be easier to tolerate if its own recent history were not stained by horrors of its own. In 2011, right-wing racist Anders Behring Breivik murdered 77 people in one of Europe’s worst modern massacres. Norway, like every Western society, has grappled with extremism, racism and democratic tensions. Yet somehow these complexities never seem to invalidate its standing in the fashionable “freedom indices” endlessly weaponised against countries such as India. India, a deafeningly argumentative democracy of 1.4 billion people with thousands of newspapers, television channels and digital platforms attacking the government daily, is routinely portrayed as ‘authoritarian’ by opaque Western metrics. But countries inflicting chronic violence against journalists somehow fare better. This bizarre methodology reflects a closed loop of Western NGOs, advocacy networks and self-certifying liberal institutions validating one another’s prejudices. The real story was not Norway’s predictable condescension, but the speed with which sections of India’s own elite genuflected before it. The Scandinavian sneer found eager amplification from India’s own salon of professional Modi-baiters, whose instinctive reflex is to applaud any foreign sneer at India so long as it embarrasses the man they loathe.

Growing Risks Of Cyber Warfare

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

In a shocking series of events, multiple coordinated explosions have rocked Lebanon and parts of Syria, killing dozens of people and injuring thousands. The blasts occurred after explosive devices, hidden inside pagers and other radio communication devices, were detonated. The targeted individuals were primarily members of Hezbollah, with the explosions taking place in densely populated areas, resulting in widespread injuries to civilians, including children.

The devices, mainly pagers, walkie-talkies, and radios, had been in the possession of Hezbollah operatives, who had acquired them months prior, under the assumption they were secure. However, Hezbollah has accused Israel’s intelligence agency, Shin Bet, of tampering with the devices during transit.

According to security experts, Israel’s elite secret cyber warfare unit was behind the attack. This unit, known for its global cyber operations, is also linked to the creation of the STUXnet malware, which was responsible for the failure of Iran’s nuclear power plant. The pagers were rigged with explosive materials in place of a battery, and a relay switch was installed, allowing the explosions to be triggered remotely in a synchronized manner. The result was devastating injuries to the eyes, face, hands, and legs of those carrying the devices.

The incident occurred in Hezbollah-stronghold areas, including the Dahieh suburb of Beirut, southern Lebanon, and parts of the Beqaa Valley, with some explosions also reported across the border in Syria. The blasts overwhelmed hospitals, as hundreds of victims sought medical help for injuries ranging from severe burns to shattered limbs. The intensity of the explosions, far beyond that of ordinary battery malfunctions, indicates a highly sophisticated sabotage operation.

These explosions have not only deepened the crisis in Lebanon but have also raised critical questions about supply chain security, intelligence tactics, and the legality of using booby-trapped electronics in conflict zones.


What Are Pagers, and Why Are They Still Preferred?

Despite being old-school tele communication technology, pagers or beepers are still used in many countries, particularly in critical sectors and organizations. Pagers primarily facilitate one-way communication, pager uses higher frequencies than car radios i.e. 400 MHz band frequency. It also used a very basic type of VHF spectrum. These devices operate in restricted areas to transfer messages, alerts, and information. These devices are considered more secure and harder to trace or track compared to mobile phones, as they only receive messages, similar to a car radio that receives signals without revealing the listener’s identity or location. Additionally, pagers lack features like Bluetooth or GPS, making them more difficult to hack or compromise.

Among their many advantages, pagers are known for their long battery life and durability, making them ideal for continuous use in specific industries. There are an estimated two million active pager users worldwide. Hezbollah began using pagers after Israel successfully assassinated a high-ranking Hezbollah target by hacking his cellphone and precisely targeting him with a missile. Since then, many Hezbollah members have switched to more primitive communication devices, like pagers, to avoid being tracked via the internet.


Are Mobile Phones and Smartphones Similarly Vulnerable?

American and European security agencies suggest that, theoretically, it is possible to alter mobile phones and other smart devices to turn them into explosive devices. However, practically, it is more difficult due to the advanced security systems in modern smartphones. A hacked smartphone may exhibit various signs, such as abnormal temperature changes, slower system performance, unexpected reboots, odd sounds during calls, hung applications, or irrelevant messages and pop-ups, all of which could indicate tampering. These security systems make it more challenging to modify smartphones in the same manner as simpler devices like pagers.


New Security Challenges

The Hezbollah pager explosion serves as a wake-up call for sectors involving critical infrastructure and aviation. In an era where smartphones are network-connected and can be charged wirelessly, the possibility of tampering with batteries or embedding explosives, like HMX, PETN and other type of plastic explosives pose significant risks. During flights, even a minor explosion could result in catastrophic consequences. On the ground, the threat extends to damaging nearby aircraft, equipment, and infrastructure. Airport security may soon impose stricter regulations, potentially banning pagers, walkie-talkies, and radios, much like power banks, which are now restricted on flights. In the future, mobile phones may only be allowed in switched-off modes, placed in lithium-safe bags during flights. Suspicious devices could be handled separately in Faraday-sheet bags to block any network or signal connections.

This incident highlights the growing risks of cyber warfare and the dangers posed by everyday communication devices being exploited for sabotage. It is an alarming call for a nation’s security as the treat of such critical infrastructure being handled by terrorist organisations can compromise the use of day-to-day electronics for malicious activities. As technology advances, so must the protocols for ensuring public safety, particularly in high-risk environments where even the smallest vulnerability could lead to devastating consequences.

(The writer is an eminent cyber and explosives forensic expert. Views personal.)

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