Secret Service discovers illegal telecommunications network near U.N. General Assembly 

The U.S. Secret Service has dismantled a vast network of electronic devices allowing anonymous communications near the United Nations with the ability to disable all telecommunication systems in the New York tristate area.

“The potential for disruption to our country’s telecommunications posed by this network of devices cannot be overstated,” U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran said in a statement.

“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.”

Curran referenced an ongoing Secret Service protective intelligence investigation that began in the spring. The investigation followed “multiple telecommunications-related imminent threats” against senior government officials, Matt McCool, head of the Secret Service New York field office, said in a video.

The probe discovered more than 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards across multiple sites in the New York tri-state area, according to the press release. The location of these devices was 35 miles from the United Nations General Assembly global meeting, ongoing this week.

SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards connect devices to mobile networks.

“We will continue working toward identifying those responsible and their intent, including whether their plan was to disrupt the U.N. General Assembly and communications of government and emergency personnel during the official visit of world leaders in and around New York City,” McCoy said.

Investigators also found 80 grams of cocaine, illegal firearms, computers and cellphones across five locations, NBC reports.

This network of devices – known as a SIM farm – enabled criminal organizations and “threat actors” to send anonymous, encrypted messages undetected.

“In addition to carrying out anonymous telephonic threats, these devices could be used to conduct a wide range of telecommunications attacks,” the statement reads. “This includes disabling cell phone towers, enabling denial of services attacks and facilitating anonymous, encrypted communication between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises.”

McCool said the Secret Service quickly dismantled the network, and an investigation is ongoing.

“Given the timing, location, and proximity and potential for significant disruptions to the New York telecom system, we moved quickly to disrupt this network,” McCool said. “To be clear, these recovered devices no longer pose a threat to the New York tri-state area.”

Secret Service’s Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit, a new section of the agency focused on the greatest imminent threats, is conducting the ongoing investigation and examining the “equivalent of 100,000 cell phones worth of data,” according to McCool.

He said early analysis has revealed the existence of foreign communications already known to federal law enforcement, McCool said.

“The Secret Service will continue to run down all leads, until we fully understand the extent of the operation and identify those responsible,” McCool said.