Secret Service Discovers Massive Telecommunications Threat Network That Targeted US Officials
The Secret Service announced it has dismantled a massive illegal telecommunications network that could have crippled cell service across New York City — including the United Nations headquarters — just as the General Assembly convenes with President Donald J. Trump set to deliver a major address.
According to Fox News, agents confiscated hardware spread across the tristate area, all located within 35 miles of New York City.
The Secret Service revealed in a statement:
“This protective intelligence investigation led to the discovery of more than 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards across multiple sites.”
The devices were capable of far more than harassing officials with anonymous calls. Officials said the technology could have been weaponized to disable cellphone towers, launch denial-of-service attacks, and facilitate encrypted communication between criminal groups and foreign adversaries.
Secret Service Director Sean Curran underscored the danger, warning: “The potential for disruption to our country’s telecommunications posed by this network of devices cannot be overstated.”
The scale of the threat is staggering. According to The New York Times, the network could blast out 30 million anonymous text messages per minute, enough to flood the nation’s entire wireless system in mere moments. A CBS source said the devices could “text message the entire country within 12 minutes.”
Matt McCool, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s New York field office, painted the chilling picture:
“It can take down cell towers, so then no longer can people communicate, right? … You can’t text message, you can’t use your cellphone. And if you coupled that with some sort of other event associated with UNGA, you know, use your imagination there, it could be catastrophic to the city.”
McCool emphasized that the network could have directly impacted not only the United Nations but also communications of U.S. government officials, law enforcement, and emergency personnel during one of the most high-profile global gatherings of the year.
“This is an ongoing investigation, but there’s absolutely no reason to believe we won’t find more of these devices in other cities,” McCool warned.
National security experts believe espionage is the most likely explanation. Cybersecurity executive Anthony Ferrante flatly stated: “My instinct is this is espionage.”
James A. Lewis of the Center for European Policy Analysis added that the sophistication of the network puts Russia and China at the top of the suspect list.
The discovery comes just as President Trump prepares to address world leaders at the UN General Assembly — a reminder of the growing threats America faces both at home and abroad.