Secret Service Dismantles Massive Telecom Network Near U.N.

U.S. Secret Service agents this week dismantled a massive hidden telecommunications network across the New York tristate area, seizing more than 300 SIM servers and roughly 100,000 SIM cards at multiple sites within 35 miles of the U.N. General Assembly. Authorities said the servers could be used to send anonymous threatening texts, enable encrypted communications among criminal or nation‑state actors, conduct denial‑of‑service attacks and even disable cell towers, potentially crippling emergency response during the international summit. Investigators also seized drugs, illegal firearms and digital equipment and reported links to foreign nationals, drug cartels, human‑trafficking and organized‑crime networks; Homeland Security Investigations, the Justice Department, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the NYPD and other agencies are participating in ongoing forensic work. Secret Service Director Sean Curran and field leaders framed the takedown as a preventative measure after a recent spike in anonymous threats against senior U.S. officials. Officials said there is no public evidence of a confirmed plot to disrupt the U.N. meetings, and forensics are continuing to determine who created and operated the network.