The IC-V82 radios that detonated in Lebanon following a suspected cyber attack have been out of production for 10 years, the Japanese corporation Icom said, TASS reports, citing the company’s website.
“This product was discontinued 10 years ago and we have not supplied it since.” – says the published statement.
The production and shipment of these radios, including to Middle Eastern countries, took place between 2004 and 2010, the company added. Icom also stressed that the available photographs of walkie-talkies from Lebanon do not contain special holographic stickers and therefore experts cannot confirm the authenticity of the walkie-talkies or that they were ever produced by a Japanese corporation.
The company also noted that it cooperates only with official distributors and follows strict export control protocols based on current Japanese laws and regulations from the country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.