The US Secret Service has found and dismantled a network of electronic devices that could be used to shut down the cellular network in New York City.
The equipment, discovered across multiple sites throughout the New York tristate area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut), included 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards.
In a statement published on September 23, the Secret Service said the gear had been used to conduct multiple telecommunications-related threats directed towards senior US government officials.
It could be used to disable cell phone towers, enable denial-of-services (DoS) attacks and facilitate anonymous, encrypted communication between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises.
These devices were concentrated within 35 miles of the global meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, which was then about to start in New York City.
“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,” the Secret Service said.
The Secret Service dismantled a network of more than 300 SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards in the New York-area that were capable of crippling telecom systems and carrying out anonymous telephonic attacks, disrupting the threat before world leaders arrived for the UN General… pic.twitter.com/sZKUeGqvGY
— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) September 23, 2025
The effort was led by the agency’s Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit, a new section dedicated to disrupting the most significant and imminent threats to American citizens.
While an investigation is still ongoing, early analysis indicates that nation-state threat actors have been in contact with individuals known to federal law enforcement.
In the statement, Sean Curran, the US Secret Service director, emphasized that the potential for disruption to the US telecommunications posed by this network of devices “cannot be overstated.”
“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 is collaborating with a number of federal and local law enforcement agencies on the investigation, including the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Justice (DoJ), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the New York Police Department (NYPD).
