The U.S. Secret Service has dismantled a rogue cellular network in the New York City area that could’ve shut down the city’s cell towers and blocked emergency responders, sending out 30 million encrypted texts per minute.
The New York Times reports that the setup was found lurking in multiple safe houses scattered around NYC, Connecticut, and New Jersey—just days before the United Nations General Assembly.
The scale of the operation was enormous. Over 100,000 SIM cards, 300 servers, untraceable communications equipment, illegal firearms, and 80 grams of cocaine were discovered. Thus far, there are no suspects.
Given the size of the operation, authorities suspect it could be a state actor or some criminal organization.
Secret Service Uncovered a Rogue Cell Network That Nearly Took Down NYC Towers
Investigators say the network could’ve blacked out New York’s cellular network and taken emergency services offline. They even found evidence linking it to a series of high-level swatting calls made earlier this year, targeting officials from the Secret Service and the White House. That might’ve been the test run.
As for who’s behind it, no one’s naming names. However, cybersecurity experts suspect espionage. That’s what Former FBI cyber chief Anthony Ferrante called it, adding that the only countries with the muscle to pull this off are probably Russia, China, or Israel.
And that’s without even touching the potential for mass eavesdropping, especially with this operation camped right next to U.N. headquarters—a time when every visiting nation’s envoy tries to spy on each other.
Officials stress there’s no confirmed link between this network and a direct threat to the U.N. event. Still, when you find gear capable of nuking citywide comms in a 35-mile radius of a major international summit, that’s the first place your brain goes to.
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