MINSK, October 31. /TASS/. The recent waves of thousands of exploding electronic devices across the Middle East ushered in a new era of risks when civilian technologies can be used for attacks, Collective Security Treaty Organization Secretary-General Imangali Tasmagambetov said.
"The recent detonations of thousands of electronic communications devices and household appliances in the Middle East ushered in a completely new era of risks when civilian technologies are used for terrorism purposes," he said at a session of the 2nd Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security.
The official also noted the importance of maintaining information security within the CSTO and said the group is setting up an electronic database to share data on digital attacks.
On September 17 and 18, waves of exploding electronic devices swept across Lebanon. On the first of these days, a large number of handheld pagers detonated almost simultaneously in different parts of the country. According to the country’s Health Ministry, the incidents killed 12 people, including two children, and injured more than 2,000 people. The next day, exploding devices included walkie-talkies, phones, and other gadgets powered by solar and lithium-ion batteries. The second attack killed 25 people and injured 608 others.