The U.S. Secret Service dismantled a critical security threat in the New York tristate area after discovering devices intended to cripple the nation’s communication structure.
While investigating threats made to senior U.S. government officials, the agency discovered more than 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards across multiple sites, which are capable of “disabling cell phone towers, enabling denial of services attacks and facilitating anonymous, encrypted communication between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises,” the Secret Service explained.
Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office, Matt McCool, detailed the investigation in a video “as a matter of public interest given timing, amount, and concentration of material recovered during a recent Secret Service protective intelligence investigation.”
He explained that the devices were found within 35 miles of the United Nations General Assembly meeting. “Given the timing, location, and proximity and potential for significant disruptions to the New York telecom system, we move quickly to disrupt this network. To be clear, these recovered devices no longer pose a threat to the New York Tri-state area,” he explained.
Upon examining the devices, early analysis indicates “cellular communications between foreign actors and individuals that are known to federal law enforcement,” McCool stated.
The investigation is led by the Secret Service’s new section called the Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit, which is “dedicated to disrupting the most significant and imminent threats to our protectees.”
A bipartisan bill aiming to secure American telecommunications infrastructure from foreign adversaries was sent to the Senate Commerce Committee in April. The bill, called the Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency (FACT) Act, mandates that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) identify and publicly list foreign government entities from adversarial nations that hold FCC licenses or authorizations.
