The U.S. Secret Service announced on Tuesday that the agency dismantled an “imminent telecommunications threat” near the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City.
In a Tuesday press release, the Secret Service said it “dismantled a network of electronic devices located throughout the New York tristate area that were used to conduct multiple telecommunications-related threats directed towards senior U.S. government officials, which represented an imminent threat to the agency’s protective operations.”
In a video message accompanying Tuesday’s press release, Matt McCool, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s New York field office, explained that the Secret Service launched an investigation after “multiple telecommunications-related imminent threats” were directed against senior U.S. government officials in the spring. McCool described the investigation, which involved officials identifying the source of “fraudulent calls,” as a “difficult and complex effort.”
During the investigation, officials discovered over 100,000 SIM cards and 300 co-located SIM servers that were capable of conducting “nefarious telecommunications attacks,” according to Tuesday’s announcement. McCool confirmed that the electronic devices were concentrated within 35 miles of this week’s United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City.
“This network had the potential to disable cellphone towers and essentially shut down the cellular network in New York City,” Matt McCool warned.
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The Secret Service’s press release noted that the electronic devices recovered by the agency were capable of carrying out a “wide range of telecommunications attacks,” including the disabling of cell phone towers, providing encrypted communications between criminal organizations and potential threat actors, and enabling denial of services attacks.
“While forensic examination of these devices is ongoing, early analysis indicates cellular communications between nation-state threat actors and individuals that are known to federal law enforcement,” the Secret Service stated.
McCool explained that the Secret Service “moved quickly” to disrupt the network due to the “timing, location, and proximity and potential for significant disruptions to the New York telecom system.” He also confirmed that the electronic devices recovered by the Secret Service “no longer pose a threat to the New York tristate area.”
McCool said the Secret Service will investigate whether the individuals responsible for the telecommunications threat were planning to disrupt the United Nations General Assembly and the communications of world leaders during this week’s meeting.
Addressing the foiled telecommunications threat, Secret Service Director Sean Curran said, “The potential for disruption to our country’s telecommunications posed by this network of devices cannot be overstated.”
Curran added, “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 Secret Service shared pictures on Tuesday of some of the electronic devices discovered during the agency’s investigation.
