The US Secret Service on Tuesday announced the successful dismantling of a telecommunications network in the New York tristate area that posed an imminent threat to senior US officials and had the potential to disrupt cellular services.
The operation comes at a critical time, as global leaders, including US President Donald Trump, prepare to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. President Trump is set to deliver his first speech to the assembly since his re-election, amid ongoing Israeli strikes in Gaza City.
The US Secret Service revealed that investigators uncovered a significant cache of equipment, including over 300 SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards, spread across multiple locations within a 35-mile (56-km) radius of the UN meeting site. These devices were linked to anonymous telephonic threats targeting US officials, raising concerns about their potential for malicious use. Authorities stated that the equipment could be weaponised to carry out broader telecommunications attacks, such as disabling cell towers, executing denial-of-service disruptions, and facilitating encrypted communications between criminal groups and foreign state actors.
A forensic review of the seized devices is underway, with preliminary findings indicating connections between overseas threat actors and individuals already known to federal law enforcement. US Secret Service Director Sean Curran emphasised the severity of the threat, stating, “The potential for disruption to our country’s telecommunications posed by this network of devices cannot be overstated.” He underscored the agency’s commitment to prevention, adding, “The agency’s mission is built on prevention, and that the operation showed how seriously it treats threats against its protectees. He said that imminent risks will be ‘immediately investigated, tracked down and dismantled.’”
The operation was led by the Secret Service’s Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit, a specialised division established to counter high-level threats. The unit acted swiftly due to the timing of the UN General Assembly and the potential for significant disruptions to New York’s communications infrastructure. The investigation received support from multiple federal and local agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Justice, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the New York Police Department, all of which provided technical assistance.
The dismantling of this telecom network underscores the heightened security measures in place as world leaders converge in New York for the UN General Assembly, highlighting the US Secret Service’s proactive efforts to safeguard officials and critical infrastructure.
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