The US Secret Service says it has dismantled 300+ SIM card servers in the NYC area that could have disrupted communications ahead of the UN General Assembly
NYTimes https://www.nytimes.com/... Anthony Guglielmi / @ajguglielmi : While investigating threats against senior officials, the @SecretService uncovered & dismantled a telecom network capable of disrupting cellular service across the NY Tri-State area & enabling anonymous, encrypted communications. https://www.secretservice.gov/ ... Jim Sciutto / @jimsciutto : “...analysis indicates cellular communications between nation-state threat actors” - it will be interesting to see which nation-state. Evelyn Farkas / @evelynnfarkas : Which state adversary - that works with criminal organizations - might want the ability to cripple all of NYC this week or some other week?... https://www.theguardian.com/ ... Lindsey Graham / @lindseygrahamsc : I very much appreciate the Secret Service's outstanding work in detecting a potential plot to shut down communications systems in New York City. This unnerving discovery found hundreds of servers with over 100,000 SIM cards that could be used to flood telecommunications systems Danny Kemp / @dannyctkemp : US Secret Service says it busts plot that could have crashed cell networks near UN General Assembly where Trump speaks today — involving ‘nation-state threat actors’ Scott Adams / @scottadamssays : Who put it there? Was it part of a larger terror plan for NYC? It would be a big problem if cell phones went out at the same time as an attack. @dhsgov : Today, the @SecretService announced the dismantling of a network of electronic devices—located within 35 miles of the United Nations General Assembly—used to carry out a wide range of telecommunications attacks. The potential for disruption to our country's telecommunications [video] Peter Adderton / @peter_adderton : We are aware of reports regarding @mobileXus SIM cards, along with other providers being recovered during a federal investigation. MobileX was built to make mobile service simple and affordable, and while that accessibility can occasionally attract bad actors, we have strong safeguards in place to detect and block automated or bulk usage. We shut down suspicious activity every day and are prepared to fully cooperate with authorities if contacted. @matthew_d_green : The secret service has allegedly dismantled something very bizarre near the UN. [image] LinkedIn: Andy Greenberg : A giant “SIM farm” in the New York area that ran 100,000 SIM cards was likely used for spam, scams, fraud and even swatting US members of Congress … Anthony Guglielmi : While investigating telephonic threats against senior government officials, a highly organized telecom network was discovered and dismantled. … Ron Green : This will be an interesting investigation to follow. The location and sophistication could mean it's a nation state threat actor conducting espionage operations. … Bluesky: Andy Greenberg / @agreenberg : The Secret Service isn't claiming it foiled any plot targeting the UN General Assembly. Just that a big collection of SIMs (probably used for fraud) could have *potentially* disrupted NYC cell service. The SIMs were in a *35 MILE* radius of the UN. — These headlines are all pretty egregiously wrong: [embedded post] Dell Cameron / @dell : Seems what's being described here is less about intent and more about potential capability (in the same way a Stingray device is also just essentially a cellphone jammer). It'd be prudent for now not to read too much into headlines claiming the Secret Service just thwarted an attack near the UN. … Kim Zetter / @kimzetter : This is best story by far about the SIM farm uncovered in New York by Secret Service. The intent of the farm is not, as suggested by other stories, to disrupt Secret Service protection of dignitaries attending the UN or taking out mobile service for all NY but about managing criminal enterprises Nicholas Weaver / @ncweaver.skerry-tech.com : Looking at the setup, I don't see how the carriers can't immediately pinpoint where the SIM-farms are and, well, shut them down... www.wired.com/story/sim-fa... So much of our security problems are those who are in a position to do something well, not wanting to. Matthew Green / @matthewdgreen : I no longer know what we can trust from the Secret Service, especially when a “Trump speech” is involved, and the mechanics of this thing are a little bizarre. — “Authorities revealed that the hidden communications system included over 100,000 SIM cards and 300 servers.” Matthew Green / @matthewdgreen : I'm struggling to understand what exactly is going on here. In another administration this would be a big story and we'd be talking about it. In this one I bet it'll disappear. [image] Ian Moody / @ianmoody : Donald Trump addresses UN general assembly as US allies recognize Palestinian statehood. US president speaks during summit in New York and will participate in high-stakes bilateral meetings with leaders from Ukraine and Argentina. — www.theguardian.com/us-news/ live... Alex Hern / @hern : “clustered within 35 miles (56km) of the United Nations” is another way of saying “not even in the same city as the United Nations” www.theguardian.com/us-news/ 2025... Karl Bode / @karlbode.com : this is odd. Secret Service says they found and dismantled a “hidden telecom network” in NYC consisting of 300 SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards they claim “could have crippled cell towers, jammed 911 calls and flooded networks with chaos at the very moment the city was most vulnerable.” Bobby / @bobbylewis : since cbs is state media now it follows that this is their framing @hyperplanes : this is an example of a trend I've noticed where the kinds of internet and telecoms scams you used to only see in poor countries are now common within the US. Fraud has become completely normalized www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-sec... Ernie Smith / @ernie.tedium.co : Kind of mad that they're only distributing photos of this in postcard size. I want to zoom in! — www.secretservice.gov/newsroom/ rel... [image] @anonimanola : The wars and secrets are taking place in the digital divide. — www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-sec... Amee Vanderpool / @girlsreallyrule : “While forensic examination of these devices is ongoing, early analysis indicates cellular communications between nation-state threat actors and individuals that are known to federal law enforcement.” — Just say RUSSIA, you guys. www.secretservice.gov/newsroom/ rel... @spiceweasel : this story is fucking crazy Departed shit www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-sec... @americanvoter : Never seen anything like this in my 64 years of life where the executive branch (not the FBI) tampers with telecommunications systems. I hope Congress will request a follow-up commission with the FCC and DHS to see the evidences that justified this action. — www.secretservice.gov/newsroom/ rel... Shane Harris / @shaneharris : So many questions about this story. www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-sec... Michael Feinberg / @michael-feinberg : There is so, so much about this story that doesn't make sense. Why is the Secret Service announcing that they found the cache before they have solid suspects? Why would they tell the subjects that they've been discovered before they've been caught? Deborah Lynn / @mrsdeborahlynn : www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-sec... Secret Service has disrupted a sprawling telecommunications network in the New York tri-state area that investigators say posed a serious potential disruption to New York's telecom systems and a possible threat to United Nations General Assembly meetings this week. Catalin Cimpanu / @campuscodi.risky.biz : The press release is here: www.secretservice.gov/newsroom/ rel... Some images are below: [embedded post] Paul J Davies / @pauljdavies : Ooo... industrialized fraud tech enters the the large scale geopolitical disruption game >> — Federal agents dismantled a network of devices in the New York area that was used to threaten senior US government officials and bore signs of foreign involvement www.bloomberg.com/news/article... Mastodon: @WPalant@infosec.exchange : Wow, this is quite some setup: https://arstechnica.com/... I remember reading about how Mozilla set up a smartphone test farm and were hitting roadblocks because these many antennas in one place would interfere with the electronics. Well, these SIM boxes seem to have 60 antennas each (per 256 SIM cards), and I see at least 72 boxes in one room. … Dave Rahardja / @drahardja@sfba.social : I don't really understand the attack vector here. So there were a huge number of SIM cards and likely cell endpoint radios found, but what was the attack? I guess they could DDoS the entire city's cell network, but what would that accomplish? WiFi would still work, as would walkie-talkies, which I presume any UN delegation would have. … Matt Blaze / @mattblaze@federate.social : Trying to make heads or tails of this “SIM server” thing from the US Secret Service. — https://www.secretservice.gov/ ... Presumably the denial of service attacks would involve overloading cell networks or overwhelming targets, but I believe there are easier and cheaper ways to do that then with 100K SIMs. … @mttaggart@infosec.exchange : This story is bananas. If it was a foreign state operation, consider what they could do with this kind of influence over the national cellular network. But as noted, it would appear to be about large-scale “normal” crime, not state action. — https://www.cnn.com/... @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org : Hmm, interesting, wonder who funded this absolutely massive cache of cell phone devices and SIMs? — (links to .gov) — https://www.secretservice.gov/ ... #cybersecurity #communications #telecom — [image] Ronan / @ronanmcd@mastodon.green : US Secret Service tripping over itself not to say Russia after it takes down network that could have crippled New York cell service — https://www.theguardian.com/ ... Forums: r/privacy : US uncovers 100,000 SIM cards that could have “shut down” NYC cell network - Ars Technica r/Military : Secret Service traced swatting threats against officials. They found 300 servers capable of crippling New York's cell system r/nyc : Secret Service traced swatting threats against officials. They found 300 servers capable of crippling New York's cell system r/politics : ‘SIM Farms’ Are a Spam Plague. A Giant One in New York Threatened US Infrastructure, Feds Say r/technews : ‘SIM Farms’ Are a Spam Plague. A Giant One in New York Threatened US Infrastructure, Feds Say r/Intelligence : Secret Service takes down network that could have crippled New York cell service r/espionage : Secret Service takes down network that could have crippled New York cell service r/technology : U.S. Secret Service dismantles imminent telecommunications threat in New York tristate area r/technology : U.S. Secret Service disrupts telecom network that threatened NYC during U.N. General Assembly r/stupidpol : Secret Service agents dismantle network that could shut down New York cellphone system r/hacking : U.S. Secret Service dismantles imminent telecommunications threat in New York tristate area r/cybersecurity : Cache of Devices Capable of Crashing Cell Network Is Found Near U.N. r/news : Secret Service says it dismantled ‘imminent telecommunications threat’ near UN general assembly ahead of Trump speech - live | Donald Trump r/cellmapper : U.S. Secret Service dismantles imminent telecommunications threat in New York tristate area r/USNEWS : The Secret Service traced swatting threats against officials. They found 300 servers capable of crippling NYC's cell system
Context & Ripple Effects
The seizure lands amid a broader run of telecom-security incidents: reporting on the Salt Typhoon breaches of major US carriers raised concerns that carrier networks could expose highly sensitive communications, while subsequent coverage said the group accessed calls and texts.
This case differs from an intrusion into carrier systems: authorities describe locally deployed SIM-server infrastructure that could both mask communications and disrupt service. It also follows the theft of government users' TeleMessage data, including officials' travel plans, underscoring how communications infrastructure and metadata can create operational exposure.
First-order effects
- The Secret Service has removed more than 300 SIM-card servers and their associated SIM inventory from the New York tri-state area, eliminating the reported near-term capability to interfere with cellular service around the UN General Assembly.
- The investigation shifts from telephonic threats against senior officials toward identifying the operators and assessing the reported communications between suspected nation-state actors and people already known to law enforcement; the agency has not publicly attributed the network to a state.
Second-order effects
- Mobile carriers and public-safety agencies may need to review local resilience and anomaly-detection procedures, because an externally operated SIM-server network can create disruption risk without requiring a disclosed breach of carrier core systems.
- The case adds pressure for closer coordination among federal investigators, carriers, and event-security planners when high-profile gatherings depend on uninterrupted mobile and emergency communications.
Third-order effects
- If similar networks recur, telecom security will increasingly be treated as a physical-infrastructure and counterintelligence problem alongside conventional cyber defense, with attention extending to large-scale SIM provisioning and device deployments.
- The pattern could drive more scrutiny of the supply chain and governance around high-volume SIM use, but the eventual policy response will depend on whether investigators establish the network's operators, intent, and links to foreign actors.
The trend: Communications security is becoming a convergence point for cyber intrusion, physical network infrastructure, and national-security protection at high-risk events.