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The U.S. Secret Service said Tuesday that 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.”
The devices were concentrated within 35 miles of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York.
“This network had the potential to disable cellphone towers and essentially shut down the cellular network in New York City,” Matt McCool, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s New York field office, said in a video released Tuesday.
The Secret Service said it found “more than 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards across multiple sites.”
“In addition to carrying out anonymous telephonic threats, these devices could be used to conduct a wide range of telecommunications attacks. This includes disabling cell phone towers, enabling denial of services attacks and facilitating anonymous, encrypted communication between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises,” the Secret Service said. “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.”
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“To be clear, these recovered devices no longer pose a threat to the New York tristate area,” McCool added. “We will continue working towards identifying those responsible and their intent, including whether their plan was to disrupt the U.N. General Assembly and communications of government and emergency personnel during the official visit of world leaders in and around New York City. Forensic examinations of the equivalent of 100,000 cell phones worth of data is underway.”
He said the investigation began “Following multiple telecommunications-related imminent threats directed towards senior U.S. government officials this spring.”
The Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Justice, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the New York Police Department and other state and local law enforcement partners are assisting with the investigation.
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“The potential for disruption to our country’s telecommunications posed by this network of devices cannot be overstated,” U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran said.
“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,” he added.
The Secret Service also said: “Given the timing, location and potential for significant disruption to New York telecommunications posed by these devices, the agency moved quickly to disrupt this network.”
President Donald Trump is set to address the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.
