US Secret Service
The U.S. Secret Service announced on Monday that is had dismantled a network of electronic devices large enough to “shut down the cellular network in New York City.” The devices, found throughout the New York tristate area, “were used to conduct multiple telecommunications-related threats directed towards senior U.S. government officials,” according to a statement from the agency.
More than 300 co-located SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards were discovered in abandoned apartment buildings across multiple sites. All of the devices were found within 35 miles of the global meeting of the United Nations General Assembly that is currently taking place in New York City.
The agency said the confiscated equipment was capable of texting the entire population of the United States in just 12 minutes. This could have disabled mobile phone towers and possibly blocked emergency dispatch communications, according to the BBC.
“In addition to carrying out anonymous telephonic threats, these devices could be used to conduct a wide range of telecommunications attacks,” the U.S. Secret Service stated. “This includes disabling cell phone towers, enabling denial of services attacks and facilitating anonymous, encrypted communication between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises.”
US Secret Service
“The potential for disruption to our country’s telecommunications posed by this network of devices cannot be overstated,” said U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran. “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.”
US Secret Service
“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 agency reported. “The U.S. Secret Service’s Advanced Threat Interdiction Unit, a new section of the agency dedicated to disrupting the most significant and imminent threats to our protectees, is conducting this investigation. This investigation is currently ongoing.”
How could criminals shut down cell phone service over such a large area?
Photos of the seized devices shared by the Secret Service reveal numerous “SIM boxes” with SIM cards stacked on several racks. According to IT and business process management company Infosys BPM, “SIM box fraud is among the most demanding challenges telecom operations face globally.” Telecom company Subex explains that SIM box fraud degrades the quality of service for legitimate customers by because “the rerouting of traffic through SIM boxes often leads to network congestion, dropped calls, and poor voice quality.”
US Secret Service
“This network had the power to disable cell phone towers and essentially shut down the cellular network in New York City,” said special agent in charge Matt McCool. He added that the operation was “well-organized and well-funded” and that it involved “nation-state threat actors and individuals that are known to federal law enforcement.”