- The U.S. Secret Service uncovered a covert cellular network around New York City capable of disabling cell towers and disrupting telecommunications during the United Nations General Assembly.
- Over 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards were strategically placed within 35 miles of the U.N. meeting, allowing anonymous and encrypted communications for potential threat actors.
- Authorities have removed the devices and are conducting forensic investigations after an inquiry that began when senior government officials received telecommunications threats in spring.
Secret Service investigators announced on Tuesday the discovery of a cellular network placed across several sites that had the potential to disable cell towers and essentially shut down New York City’s cellular network.
More than 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards were spread within 35 miles of the on-going United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City.
“The potential for disruption to our country’s telecommunications posed by this network of devices cannot be overstated,” Secret Service Director Sean Curran said.
This network was “capable of carrying out nefarious telecommunications attacks,” according to Matt McCool, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s New York field office.
“These devices allowed anonymous and encrypted communications between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises, enabling criminal organizations to operate undetected,” McCool said.
“It can take down cell towers, so then no longer can people communicate, right?” McCool said. “You can’t text message, you can’t use your cellphone. And if you coupled that with some sort of other event associated with UNGA, you know, use your imagination there, it could be catastrophic to the city.”
The devices were removed and no longer pose a threat to New York’s cellular network, the Secret Service announced.
Secret Service officers are working alongside the Department of Homeland Security’s investigation team, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the New York Police Department and the Department of Justice.
Officials are currently conducting forensic investigations of 100,000 cellphones worth of data.
The investigation has been ongoing for several months, and it began after senior U.S. government officials began receiving telecommunications-related threats this spring.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one official said 80 grams of cocaine, illegal firearms, computers and cellphones were on site when they discovered the network, The New York Times reported.
