The U.S. Secret Service said it dismantled a network of electronic devices in the New York area that were used to conduct “telecommunications-related threats” against senior government officials ahead of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.
More than 300 SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards that could have been used to disable cell towers and facilitate “anonymous, encrypted communication between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises” were taken apart, the Secret Service said.
The network had the potential to “essentially shut down the cellular network in New York City,” U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Matt McCool said in a video released by the agency.
The Secret Service did not name the organization or people behind the devices, but said that early analysis “indicates cellular communications between nation-state threat actors and individuals that are known to federal law enforcement.”
The devices were all found within 35 miles of New York City, where more than 150 leaders and other high-level officials from across the globe were gathering on Tuesday. President Donald Trump is also expected to make a speech during the event.
“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 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.”
The investigation is ongoing.
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