NEW YORK (LOOTPRESS) – The U.S. Secret Service has dismantled a large network of electronic devices in the New York tristate area that officials say posed an imminent threat to senior U.S. government officials and the nation’s telecommunications infrastructure.
The protective intelligence investigation uncovered more than 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards spread across multiple sites. According to investigators, the devices were capable of carrying out a range of attacks, including anonymous telephonic threats, disabling cell phone towers, enabling denial-of-service attacks, and providing encrypted communications for potential threat actors and criminal enterprises.
“Forensic examination of these devices is still underway,” the agency said, noting that early analysis suggests evidence of cellular communications between nation-state threat actors and individuals already known to federal law enforcement.
“The potential for disruption to our country’s telecommunications posed by this network of devices cannot be overstated,” said U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran. “The U.S. Secret Service’s protective mission is all about prevention, and this investigation makes it clear to potential bad actors that imminent threats to our protectees will be immediately investigated, tracked down, and dismantled.”
The network was discovered within 35 miles of the United Nations General Assembly currently taking place in New York City. Given the timing and the potential for disruption during the high-profile global gathering, the agency acted quickly to disable the threat.
The investigation is being led by the Secret Service’s Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit, a newly established section focused on countering the most significant and imminent threats to protectees.
The operation involved assistance from the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Justice, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the NYPD, and other state and local partners.
Officials emphasize the probe is ongoing.
