NEW YORK (AP) – Just as nearly 150 world leaders converged on New York City for the U.N. General Assembly, the U.S. Secret Service uncovered and dismantled a vast and dangerous hidden telecom system operating across the region.Â
According to investigators, the network had the capacity to jam 911 calls, take down cell towers and cripple the city’s communication infrastructure at its most vulnerable moment.Â
While no direct plot has been linked to the U.N. event, officials warn the discovery points to a new kind of threat – one aimed at the invisible systems modern cities depend on.
What we know:
The dismantled system consisted of over 300 SIM servers and more than 100,000 SIM cards spread within a 35-mile radius of the United Nations headquarters. Investigators say the network could have blacked out cellular service and flooded emergency response channels with spoofed traffic.
According to officials, the discovery was part of a larger investigation into telecom threats targeting senior U.S. government officials. The network’s capabilities included sending mass texts and calls, overwhelming infrastructure and masking encrypted communications between criminals and potential nation-state actors.
Agents say it was a sophisticated and costly operation, with millions spent on equipment and a capability to send up to 30 million messages per minute.
What they’re saying:
“It can’t be understated what this system is capable of doing,” said Matt McCool, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s New York field office. “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.”
“We need to do forensics on 100,000 cell phones, essentially all the phone calls, all the text messages, anything to do with communications, see where those numbers end up,” McCool added.
“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,” said agency director Sean Curran in a statement.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 11: Members of the Police and U.S. Secret Service prepare for the arrival of U.S. President Donald Trump to honor the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks prior to a game between the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees
McCool also warned of broader implications: “Could there be others? It’d be unwise to think that there’s not other networks out there being made in other cities in the United States.”
Why you should care:
The operation exposed a new kind of threat that could paralyze a city not through bombs or cyberattacks, but by targeting the systems that keep people connected and emergency services functioning. In a densely populated and high-profile city like New York – especially during events like the U.N. General Assembly – such a disruption could have catastrophic consequences.
What we don’t know:
Officials have not identified any specific governments, criminal organizations or terrorist groups behind the operation. There is no confirmed connection between the network and an active plan to disrupt the U.N. General Assembly.
The Secret Service also emphasized that there are no known credible threats to New York City at this time. Forensic analysis of the servers and communications is ongoing, and authorities expect the investigation to take time given the volume of data.
What’s next:
Investigators are now analyzing the network’s communications data to trace its origins and connections. The process involves combing through potentially 100,000 active SIM cards to identify call and message patterns.
Officials say this is likely not an isolated case and are warning law enforcement nationwide to be on alert for similar hidden telecom networks.