Secret Service Foils Massive Plot to Cripple NYC Cell Network and Threaten UN General Assembly
September 23rd, 2025Update: Normal Criminal Activity [???]
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Via: New York Post:
A massive illegal electronic device network capable of crippling cell towers and jamming 911 calls across New York City was uncovered by the Secret Service — just as world leaders prepared to descend on Manhattan for the UN General Assembly, officials said Tuesday.
Investigators discovered the trove of devices — including more than 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards – at multiple locations within 35 miles of the United Nations.
“The potential for disruption to our country’s telecommunications posed by this network of devices cannot be overstated,” Secret Service Director Sean Curran said.
Officials warned the devices had the capability of carrying out a wide-range of telecommunications attacks — including spamming networks with up to 30 million text messages a minute — that could have had “catastrophic” consequences for the city.
“It can take down cell towers, so then no longer can people communicate, right? …. You can’t text message, you can’t use your cell phone. 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,” Matt McCool, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s New York field office, said.
“Given the timing, location and proximity and potential for significant disruptions to the New York telecoms system, we moved quickly to disrupt this network.”
