Secret Service disrupts telecommunications-related threats in New York

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(The Center Square) – The U.S. Secret Service disrupted a major communications threat ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The U.S. Secret Service dismantled a network of electronic devices throughout the New York tristate area that were used to conduct multiple telecommunications-related threats directed toward senior U.S. government officials.

The network represented an imminent threat to the agency's protective operations, the U.S. Secret Service said.

Protective intelligence led to the discovery of more than 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards across multiple sites. The devices could be used to conduct a wide range of telecommunications attacks, including disabling cell phone towers, enabling denial of services attacks and facilitating anonymous, encrypted communication between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises.

The networks were likely the work of foreign nations. The agency said that "early analysis indicates cellular communications between nation-state threat actors and individuals that are 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 devices were concentrated within 35 miles of the global meeting of the United Nations General Assembly underway in New York City.

The investigation is ongoing. The Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Justice, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the NYPD, as well as other state and local law enforcement partners, provided valuable technical advice and assistance in support of this investigation.