Deadly reminder that phones are ultimate tracking device

+ what Fed rate cut means for the economy US Edition - Today's top story: Pagers and walkie-talkies over cellphones – a security expert explains why Hezbollah went low-tech for communications [View in browser]( US Edition | 19 September 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Law would provide food warnings on labels]( - [Shared imagination – a mental model for connecting with others]( - [Tommy John surgery transformed baseball for pros and kids]( Lead story The wave of exploding pagers across Lebanon has given rise to an uncomfortable thought: Everyday electronic devices – maybe even one in your hand as you read this – could be sabotaged to harm you. Though the odds are exceedingly slim that you would be targeted, Richard Forno, a security expert at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, writes that [supply chain attacks](, where products or software you buy can be altered before they get to you, are a fact of life. But the reason Hezbollah turned to pagers to communicate is considerably more relevant to you: That device in your hand – your phone – is, as Forno writes, the ultimate tool for tracking you. Your phone isn’t likely to blow up, but it is likely putting a hurting on your privacy. [ [One great story every day, texted directly to you](. ] Eric Smalley Science + Technology Editor A police officer examines a damaged car after thousands of pagers exploded simultaneously across Lebanon on Sept. 17, 2024. AP Photo/Hussein Malla [Pagers and walkie-talkies over cellphones – a security expert explains why Hezbollah went low-tech for communications]( Richard Forno, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Smartphones may be indispensable to modern life, but they’re also perfect tools for spying on their owners. Anyone looking to avoid being tracked – like, say, militant groups – tends to ditch them. 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